Kevin Phillips: Players hold the power, but Di Canio had to go

Players certainly have a lot more power these days and that's been highlighted with Paolo Di Canio's sacking.

Courtesy and respect

The players have their own rules; it's the basic stuff like if you've got no flip-flops on in the shower, if you're late for training, if you leave some kit out on the training field, if you leave your plate out on the table after lunch. It's just common courtesy rules that you would abide to at home anyway and it just keeps everyone on their toes. Those kind of rules are right in football clubs, you have to live by rules and there's no harm in doing that and it keeps the house in order. The manager will have his own rules as well - like on match day if you're late you will get fined double - so it's part and parcel of football but I think you have to draw the line somewhere. I think mine and Ian Holloway's relationship works because of respect. That's huge in football; I'm a great believer in in man management and having respect for your players and your manager. I think if you get that balance right, you want to work for that guy, you want to do your best for them. As soon as you lose that there's going to be problems. My relationship with the manager is about respect, he can trust me, he's let me train at home many times on my own and I don't want to let him down. I respect him, he's the gaffer and we work by his rules.