In it together!

STEPHEN ROBINSON "under no illusions"

STEPHEN Robinson knew exactly the size of the task when he was appointed Athletic's manager on July 9.

A summer of unprecedented upheaval had swept through SportsDirect.com Park while the Motherwell assistant boss had been part of Northern Ireland's coaching set-up at the European Championships in France.

Only a handful of players were at the club when Robinson was offered the Athletic job, but he knew it was an opportunity not to be turned down.

Asked how the past 10 weeks had panned out with a new squad battling gamely to make the grade in Sky Bet League One, Robinson said: "It's been tough, but no tougher than I expected actually.

'BIG JOB'

"I was under no illusions when I took the job on, and I knew just how big a job it was.

"It was a huge project because we really were starting with very little structure in place.

"I've settled in a bit now and we all know that not only have we got to build a side, we've got to build a club as well now.

"There was literally nothing there on the football side of things, and that's something that's just got to be ongoing.

'SPEAK'

"That won't change overnight so to speak.

"It's not surprised me how tough it's been, but we're all enjoying it together."

Athletic's fully fit squad continue their League One campaign with a home game against Swindon Town on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the man who appointed rookie Robinson, club chairman Simon Corney, will be the special guest speaker in SportsDirect.com Park's Broadway Suite before the game against MK Dons on Saturday, October 1.

Corney will be taking part in a question and answer session with hospitality guests.

For booking details, call 0161 785 5185.

ATHLETIC youth team players Dylan King and Brendy Glackin have been called up for Northern Ireland for their UEFA Under-19 Championship qualification games in Poland.

The duo will be part of the squad as they face FYR Macedonia (October 5), Slovakia (October 7) and Poland (October 10).

Youth team boss Tony Philliskirk was delighted two of his players made the full under-19s squad.

He said: "Dylan has been on the international scene for a couple of seasons now, but this is Brendy's first call up and it's a real honour. They've both done well and it's a great reflection on the club.

"They play week in and week out, and when you are at this club you get opportunities.

"The opportunity they had of coming here has now been recognised and they are now full internationals so credit to them.

"The club should play take a lot of pride that we've got two internationals in our youth department which is great going forward."