PHILLISKIRK PAYS TESTAMENT TO U18s AHEAD OF OWLS VISIT

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Youth Team boss proud of team after ‘outstanding’ performance at Wigan last time out

2022-09-29T12:45:00.000Z

PHILLISKIRK PAYS TESTAMENT TO U18s AHEAD OF OWLS VISIT

Youth Team boss proud of team after ‘outstanding’ performance at Wigan last time out

2022-09-29T12:45:00.000Z

Clarets youth team manager Tony Philliskirk says that his side’s recent upturn in form is testament to the hard work going on behind the scenes by all involved, and is looking forward to another tough test in the form of Sheffield Wednesday who visit the Burnley Training Centre tomorrow afternoon in a 14:00 kick-off.

Burnley are unbeaten in four, winning three of those games including two against Wigan Athletic. The first of those was a 3-2 win at home in the group stage of the U18 Professional Development League Cup, while the latter came last weekend away at the Latics’ Christopher Park Training Ground.

Captain Joe Westley was on target twice in a 2-1 success with the Clarets lining up with an 11 which consisted mainly first-year scholars, and three U16s involved in the matchday squad.

Philliskirk sat down with the Club’s media on Thursday afternoon to discuss how winning breeds confidence, learning game-by-game, and the strength of the Owls.

CLARETS CALENDAR: YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEK AHEAD - Image 4

Philliskirk on the upturn in results:

“The last few weeks, I think the penny’s dropped all of a sudden and the lads have got to grips with what it’s all about. We’ve played some really good football in patches, and one thing we haven’t got to forget is how young our team actually is.

“At Wigan last week for example, we virtually had a team of first-year [scholars] with three U16s on the bench, two of which getting on the pitch. When you look at the team, it’s playing at U18 level, but we’ve got a very young team.

“Results are not everything, but they do breed confidence, and winning is part of developing as well. All in all, the last few weeks have been really pleasing and promising.”

Philliskirk on two wins against Wigan in three weeks:

“Last week at Wigan, I thought we were outstanding in the first 45 minutes, and that’s probably the best football we’ve played all season so far.

“For us to get two real positive results against them – one in the cup and then one away in the league with such a young team – has been a real positive.

“The pleasing thing from my point of view is that in the games we’ve played recently, there’s been certain passages where you can see what we’ve been practicing in training being executed.

PHILLISKIRK PAYS TESTAMENT TO U18s AHEAD OF OWLS VISIT - Image 2

“Things are coming along nicely and the lads are buzzing in training, so long may that continue. We’re in development football, but getting positive results breeds confidence.”

Philliskirk on reaping the reward for hard work with the second-year group of scholars:

“This second-year group were recruited bang in the middle of COVID and it’s easy to forget that they’ve missed so much because of that.

“For a lot of them, they missed coming in early to get used to the Club, what it was like being at Burnley, what it’s like here at the Burnley Training Centre. It took them a while to adapt moving away from home and they hadn’t trained at their previous Clubs for a while either, so I do think that group in particular deserve a lot of credit.

“Now, we’re just starting to see the benefits of them being back in full time training and you can really see that they’re our older, stronger players.”

Philliskirk on top scorer Westley:

“We knew that Joe had pedigree because his goalscoring record was excellent when we recruited him, so we just needed that bit more time than usually to get him up to pace. We’re reaping the rewards for that now.”

Philliskirk on midfielder Wiktor Gromek’s international success:

“Wiktor’s back with us now, and that gives us a boost. He’s been away with Poland and they won the [Lafarge Foot Avenir] tournament, which can only be a good thing for him.

Updates to youth team’s schedule

“He’s just one more body for us, because we’ve been down to the bare bones. Tomorrow, I think we’ve got 11 outfield players available, and then we’ll supplement it again with some from the U16s.

“It is nice for us to have Wiktor back though, he adds some experience to the side.”

Philliskirk on Sheffield Wednesday:

“They’re a very good team that are good on the ball and can maintain possession well. They’re a fantastic Club and another Club that have some really good outstanding young players.

“Every game is tough, but I know Sheffield lads are particularly going to be tough and going to be edgy because I lived there & played there for Sheffield United.

“We know it’s going to be a tough ask for us, but as long as the boys continue to play the way they have been doing and give us everything they’ve got, that’s all we can ask. Hopefully then we’ll get another positive result.”