Philliskirk on heroic FA Youth Cup display
Tony Philliskirk could not fault the effort of his Latics' players after they bowed out of the FA Youth Cup following a penalty-shootout decider against Sheffield United."I was proud of the lads and it was a sad way to lose, but that's life and football," explained Latics' Academy Manager whose side finished 2-2 after extra time.
Philliskirk (pictured) added there was a touch of irony that they lost on penalties having missed two spot kicks.
"We had been practicing penalties in training - may be we should not have done," he joked.
Philliskirk thought his injury-hit side started nervously - for many of the players it was their first experience of playing at Boundary Park - but he thought they grew into the game.
He said: "After that the shackles came off and we gave a good account of ourselves.
"I told the lads at the start to go out and have no regrets. They had their families here and I said do them proud which they did."
Philliskirk added that 10 of the 16 players who featured tonight will be eligible for next season's FA Youth Cup which bodes well for the future.
He said: "After that the shackles came off and we gave a good account of ourselves.
"I told the lads at the start to go out and have no regrets. They had their families here and I said do them proud which they did."
Philliskirk added that 10 of the 16 players who featured tonight will be eligible for next season's FA Youth Cup which bodes well for the future.
And Latics' Academy Manager added that his Blades counterpart Travis Binnion said that this was their toughest game of the season.
"He told me were were the better team for 60 minutes which is a nice thing to say when you look at their budget and the players they have," he concluded.
"He told me were were the better team for 60 minutes which is a nice thing to say when you look at their budget and the players they have," he concluded.