Speaking exclusively to Sportal, Mitchell said he was preparing to meet with either Phillips or his agent during an upcoming trip to the United Kingdom, the coach saying the Birmingham City striker would be an enormous acquisition for the club.

"That's not a rumour, that's a fact," declared Mitchell when asked about UK reports 35-year-old Phillips was being targeted to replace departed Perth Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya, who transferred to Dutch Eredivisie club FC Twente at the end of last season.

"He's under contract but I have made some inquiries about him and he's a good player. He's old but he's very quick still, quick and darty.

"He was in the army, kept himself fit and he's a fit person and he's scoring goals in the Championship regularly for Birmingham, so if we get him, he'd be a great asset."

Mitchell said he would be seeing Phillips in action when Birmingham played city rival Wolverhampton during April.

Phillips made a name for himself at Sunderland between 1997 and 2003, becoming known as 'Super Kev' to Black Cats fans after scoring 115 goals from 209 appearances in both the League First Division and Premiership.

In his first season at the Stadium of Light in 1997-98, Phillips scored 35 goals, becoming the first Sunderland player to achieve the feat since World War II, as the club just missed out on promotion to the Premiership.

In his next season, Phillips missed almost four months due to a toe injury, but still managed 23 goals from 25 League games as the Black Cats won promotion to the top flight.

Although predicted to struggle in the Premiership, Phillips confounded the pundits by firing home 30 Premiership goals during 1999-2000, winning the EPL and Europe's Golden Boot award for that season.

Phillips, though, couldn't maintain that lofty standard and since Sunderland's relegation in 2002-03, he has played for Southampton and Aston Villa in the Premier League before dropping back to the Championship to help West Bromwich Albion get promoted at the end of last season.

He currently has another year to run on his Birmingham City contract and Mitchell is hopeful of bringing him to Perth, despite the striker having scored 13 goals from 30 matches with the Blues so far this season.

If he was to play for the Glory, Phillips would be the second high-profile English striker confirmed to play in the Hyundai A-League after the North Queensland Fury signed former Liverpool and Manchester City hitman Robbie Fowler earlier in the year for the club's inaugural season.

Mitchell said he made a push for Phillips after his attempts to woo South African striker Glen Salmon from Supersport United were unsuccessful.