Head coach Joker Phillips held his weekly press conference (video above) to discuss this weekend’s game against the LSU Tigers, a team that is fresh off a 47-21 victory over West Virginia that sent them to the top of the Associated Press top 25. Here are some notes from Phillips’ comments.In spite of results, Phillips sees steady improvement from his teamOn paper, it looks like the Kentucky Wildcats have regressed from game one to game four this season. After opening the season with a pair of wins, UK has dropped two in a row, culminating in lopsided 48-10 loss at the hands of the Florida Gators. Assuming that’s case, a win against top-ranked LSU would come as a surprise and a sign of drastic improvement.Head coach Joker Phillips doesn’t quite see things that way. To be sure, upsetting the Tigers is going to require a great deal of improvement, but Phillips doesn’t buy into the fact that his team has taken steps back as the season has worn on.”We have made some steady improvements on offense, and (a win over LSU) would mean that we have improved a lot,” Phillips said. “We just have make that same type of improvement we made from game one to game two, game two to game three,  but then play smarter. I think we have improved in techniques and assignment, now we have to improve in taking care of the football.”In losses to Florida and Louisville, mental mistakes have been the Cats downfall. Missed assignments, dropped passes and turnovers have plagued UK and one error has led to the next.”You can’t allow it to be infectious,” Phillips said. “As soon as we are going along pretty good and then a mistake happens, and then another mistake happens and another mistake.”The mistakes the Wildcats made against Florida weren’t as many in number as in the 24-17 loss to Louisville, but it may have seemed like it because the ones that were made jumped off the page. Opponents like Florida and LSU waste no time in turn those kinds of mistakes into big plays.”We didn’t make as many mistakes, but our mistakes were very, very, very glaring,” Phillips said.If those mistakes are eliminated, beating LSU is not without precedent for UK. Joker Phillips was a part of a win on the road against the Tigers as a player and was the offensive coordinator for the 2007 upset of the top-ranked Tigers, so he knows what such a win would mean.”It would be huge for our program if we could somehow put a together a clean game, both sides of the ball, which is what it will take to beat those guys,” Phillips said.Phillips remembers the recipe he and the offense used in 2007 and plans to put it into practice again. The Tigers’ swarming defense thrives on negative plays and turnovers and the Wildcats simply cannot feed into that.”We have to use the same formula to beat them, and the formula was getting the ball back to the line of scrimmage,” Phillips said.Phillips’ philosophy will be for his team to make plays when they are there, but not to force it when they are not. His goal will be to hold onto the football and “end (each) series with a kicking situation, whether it (is) a field goal, extra point or a punt.”Leadership a work in progress for CatsWith the loss of Randall Cobb, Mike Hartline, Derrick Locke and Chris Matthews, a lot of attention was paid in the preseason to replacing the offensive production and playmaking ability of the four. Not as much was made of the leadership void they left. So far this season, that missing leadership has shown itself at times on the field. The passionate example of a player like Cobb and the calming presence of Hartline under center are not easy things to replace. Phillips said the coaching staff has to play a role in developing the next crop of leaders.”A lot of those kids don’t consider themselves leaders, so we as coaches have got to teach them how to lead,” Phillps said.One player the coaching staff targeted as someone needing to step up this offseason was linebacker Danny Trevathan. His evolution is proof that it can be done.”This past offseason, it was one of our goals to get Danny Trevathan to be a more vocal leader,” Phillips said. “I think Danny Trevathan has become that guy.”A major reason why Trevathan was become a more vocal presence is confidence. Having established himself as one of the top linebackers in the SEC in 2010, Trevathan has the respect of his teammates. For players not playing at as high of a level as Trevathan, it’s more difficult to speak up. “The thing is you have to be playing well yourself to be that type of guy,” Phillips said. “Some of the upperclassmen aren’t playing up their abilities.”Phillips cited linebacker/safety Winston Guy and guard Larry Warford as players doing well enough on the field to step up as leaders, along with a couple others who are trying to take the leap.”La’Rod King is trying to be a leader on offense,” Phillips said. “Stuart Hines is trying to be a leader. We need more of the upper classmen to be those types of guys.”Cats to play without Sanders, Ukwu against LSU; Crawford returnsPhillips would like to have all hands on deck for a matchup with the top-ranked team in the nation, but that will unfortunately not be the case. Starting running back Raymond Sanders will miss at least one more week while recovering from surgery to repair torn knee cartilage while defensive end Collins Ukwu will be held out against the Tigers with a knee strain that also caused him to miss the Florida game.Freshman Josh Clemons, who started in place of Sanders this weekend, is “questionable” with a strained hamstring. Phillips went on to say he is hopeful Clemons will be ready to go, but expect to see plenty of CoShik Williams and Jonathan George in any case.Safety Martavius Neloms, who suffered a concussion against Florida, has shown no ill-effects but will practice this week with no contact in order to keep him healthy. Wide receiver Gene McCaskill is questionable with an injured back. In a bit of good news, the suspension imposed on defensive tackle Mark Crawford that has caused him to miss all four games this season has been lifted. Phillips is pleased with the work Crawford has done to be reinstated and stay in game-ready condition.”I’m really proud of the way he’s handled the suspension and the time he’s been off,” Phillips said. “He’s done a lot of stuff on his own with extra conditioning.”We challenged him to be ready when the time came for him to play and we think he’s definitely done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’ll get a chance to get some reps on Saturday.”UK-South Carolina to be televised on SEC NetworkSEC television selections for the weekend of Oct. 8 were announced today and the Kentucky Wildcats will face off against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C., at 12:21 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The game will mark the second consecutive Saturday the Cats will play on the SEC Network at that time.