Philliskirk salutes ex-Athletic starlet Tarkowski after England senior call-up

Athletic academy boss Tony Philliskirk has spoken of his great pride in the club’s junior and youth set-up after hearing that former player James Tarkowski had been called up by England manager Gareth Southgate.

Tarkowski, now 25 and currently starring at the heart of Burnley’s defence in the Premier League, has earned his first senior call-up in a 27-man squad, ahead of the forthcoming pre-World Cup friendly fixtures against the Netherlands and Italy on March 23 and 27.

Tarkowski spent many of his formative years with Athletic, under the guidance of Philliskirk and his club coaching network, and this whole story has ended happily after the now commanding centre-back has been forced to battle back from some huge disappointments along the way.

“Tarky’s a very humble guy and I do think he appreciates everything that was done here,” said Philliskirk, who actually signed the player twice, once as a promising primary school-aged starlet and then, after he had been sold to Blackburn at the age of 13, was drafted back in as an under-16 after being subsequently ditched by the Ewood Park club.

“He always had a good grounding, though, he’s got a good family, and that helped.

“He was always humble and hard-working.

“People forget he went through so much adversity. As an under-16 he broke his leg, and when he was a scholar he had to undergo an operation as his feet were too wide.

“It sounds crazy I know, but he was in a lot of pain when he was running and so the operation – although I don’t know the medical term is – was to basically shave his feet at the side and for a spell he was on crutches.

“He missed a lot of football during those under-16 and under-17 years, but I’m a big believer that you do learn about the character of young players during these adversities.

“Tarky had to cope with a fair share of those, but he came out the other side, with flying colours.

“For me, and the club’s staff, just to have been part of his development has made us very proud now.

“Every one, two, three-per-cent we’ve been able to help him with, well now he has come out the other side, and to gain full England international recognition is an outstanding achievement from everyone involved.

“Football at any level is about opportunity, and one thing we did give Tarky at Oldham was that opportunity to come back to the club.”

Opportunity did knock for Tarkowski when Philliskirk was placed in temporary charge of the first team in February, 2013, after Paul Dickov was sacked by Athletic.

“When I was asked to take over, I pulled Tarky in and just said ‘whatever happens you’re playing in my team’,” recalled Philliskirk.

“I always had the utmost faith in his ability as a defender, so again it’s about opportunity.

“I saw a really good player and I just thought he needed the confidence at that time in terms of being told he was going to be playing.

“Would he be in this situation today without that opportunity of playing regular first-team football in 2013? We don’t know.

“It’s about learning and he did make mistakes back then, young players do.

“But he gained that confidence to say ‘allright, I’ve made a mistake’, and hopefully things like that will have helped in his development.

“Some of the things I used to hear and read about him – well, football’s a very fickle game.

“But after 32 years in football I think I know what it takes to make it as a League One footballer.

“I was always adamant about Tarky. I knew he had what it took to make it at that level, at least.

“That’s certainly been proven since.”

It most definitely has, with Tarkowski, who joined the Clarets on February 1, 2016, from Brentford, now firing himself right into contention for a place in Southgate’s squad which leaves for the World Cup in Russia in July.

It is believed fellow defender Micah Richards is the only other former Athletic academy player who has gone on to earn an England first-team call-up.

However, there are numerous examples of former Athletic starlets who have gone on to, and still enjoy, successful careers in the game.

After this latest news, Philliskirk has been keen to beat the drum for what is undoubtedly a hugely successful junior and youth set-up at SportsDirect.com Park.

In an article posted on the official Athletic website today, Philliskirk added: “It’s these players that are vital for clubs like ourselves, as they are our football and financial assets of the future.

“I have been at this club for 20 years now and I have turned down opportunities to go elsewhere in the past because of moments like this.

“I have a massive belief in what we are doing in the Youth department and everyone connected to Oldham Athletic should embrace and accept what a success it’s been over the years.

“In the last ten years alone in ‘real terms’ we have brought more money into the club through selling Academy produced players than it has cost to run the programme.

“I reiterate, our Academy players are the future footballing and financial assets of the club.

“I am proud of him (Tarkowski), my staff and the club for playing a major part in this success story.

“Let’s hope there are more successes like this to come in the future. Our youth policy, it is working.”