Dickov keen to invest in youth

A TRIO of Athletic hopefuls have caught the eye of manager Paul Dickov on the FA Youth Cup trail.

With the third-round draw already made before the second-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday took place, excitement was in the air when the round-two clash kicked off at Boundary Park.

Athletic's young charges suffered the disappointment of trailing to the South Yorkshire side in what youth team boss Tony Philliskirk described as the toughest tie they could have possibly had at that stage.

At 2-1 down in the dying stages — and with the dream of the potential home tie against Premier League giants Manchester City fading away — striker Andrew Crompton surged to the fore.

The 17-year-old, the latest in a long line of attacking prospects to have come through the ranks at Boundary Park under the tutelage of Philliskirk and centre of excellence manager Mick Priest, scored an excellent winner following James Tarkowski's equaliser.

Dickov knows a striker when he sees one and clearly sees potential in the former Manchester United youngster.

Crompton, who was rewarded with a place in the senior squad which travelled to Dagenham, will now be hoping to impress once again against City on Monday week.

"He is a great prospect,” said former City striker Dickov. "He has great ability, he is a finisher and has that great knack of being in the right place at the right time.

"What we need from him now is to step up to the plate a little bit. He knows what we expect throughout the club in terms of work-rate and application.

"He is only young and still learning, but if he can get a bit more of that into his game then it won't be too long before he is back with us (in the first team squad)."

As well as Crompton, who featured earlier this season as a substitute in a Carling Cup-tie at Scunthorpe, Dickov has blooded Carl Winchester in the first team and the 17-year-old now has three appearances to his name.

The Northern Ireland under-18 international made his debut at Accrington in the FA Cup, the same game in which his compatriot, tricky winger Ryan Burns, was on the substitutes’ bench.

And Dickov indicated that centre-back Tarkowski could be next in line for a call-up.

"Carl Winchester was excellent again and when he was pushed into midfield it changed the game," said Dickov after the youth team's 3-2 win over Wednesday.

"Tarky made slip-ups for both goals, but didn't give up and kept trying to do the right things.

“He is another one we have earmarked to get involved at some point. If the kids are doing well here, we will get them involved as quickly as we can."

Dickov was also pleased with the way the youngsters battled to win against the odds.

"I have seen them play better, but the one thing they showed, which hopefully we have running through the club, is a bit of character," he added.


ATHLETIC'S youth team were beaten 3-1 at home by Preston in the Football League Youth Alliance.
Without Winchester, Crompton and Burns – who were all on first-team duty – plus the injured Tarkowski, Athletic were forced to include six schoolboys.

North End took a two-goal lead, but he deficit was halved with a spectacular Connor Hughes effort from 25 yards.

But Matty D Carr was sent off for violent conduct and he will now be banned for the Manchester City tie.

Preston made sure of the win with a stoppage-time goal.