Juggling act is testing Tony

TONY PHILLISKIRK: Pressure all the way

"I'M NOT complaining, but it's becoming a real juggling act at the moment."

You could say that, Tony Philliskirk.

As well as keeping three balls in the air — youth team, reserves and first team — Athletic's reluctant coaching front man is having to tame a 750-page document to prepare the club for a vital audit in connection with the new Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).

Throw into the mix the high-wire act of deciding soon which talented teenagers to take on as scholars next season and it is a wonder the man still unbeaten since stepping into Paul Dickov's shoes has any time at all to himself.

"I have to have a large say on who is coming in and who is not, because they are hopefully future first-team players," said Philliskirk of the forthcoming decisions on schoolboy talents.

"You are making decisions on lads' futures. It is a really hard time for them emotionally as well as physically."

The man who has become an integral part of the Boundary Park set-up over the past 15 years is mindful of spreading himself too thinly.

He has assigned experienced midfield man Paul Murray to take the reserve team at Tranmere tomorrow night.

And today he will be on the first-team coach to Stevenage for an npower League One game as vital as any Athletic have turned out for this season.

His current right-hand man, Paul Gerrard, concedes that even he is "knackered" as a result of his current workload.

For both men to be able to give it everything, Gerrard admits they will need a break at some point - and soon.

"Tony has more responsibilities than me; it’s a case of making sure we are both physically and mentally right. If you're coming in at 7.30am, working morning, afternoon and at night, eventually it grinds you down and you have no energy left. The players pick up on it."