Sam Phillips Interview (12/05/08)

Sam Phillips has enjoyed a good year with Tunbridge Wells - and having been recognised by first team manager Mike Robbins as one of the three most improved players in the side over the course of the season, he has established himself firmly as a part of a young, but very promising midfield. So what really changed to make things click into place for him over the past 10 months?

“Its hard to put my finger on it if I’m honest,” he told www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk, “but I believe the management have given me the confidence to go out week-in-week-out and just play the football I love without worrying about making mistakes. I feel this helped me to really put in some good performances over the season.

“I have got to give credit to the gaffer and Martin Larkin who are great to play for, as well as all my team mates, who have been putting in great performances week-in-week-out all over the pitch. I have learnt a lot from a few of the experienced lads. Although I am 22, I believe you can learn from every game of football you play. I never thought I would end the season playing left midfield but I have thoroughly enjoyed it!”

Although Phillips joined the club from Sevenoaks Town, it wasn’t the first time he’d been on the books at Culverden. He began his footballing career playing in the Tandridge League, and after showing promise with Otford United’s U16’s, he linked up with Tunbridge Wells’ U18 side, which was competing in the MUSH Kent Youth League. In his second season with The Wells he captained the side to a good finish in the Youth League table. However, his potential was overlooked by the management at the club, and Phillips moved on to play first team football for Pembury in the Kent County League Div 1 (West).

“I decided after one year at Pembury that I really wanted to step up try and play at a higher level,” he recalls. “I trained with Sevenoaks, where I signed and played purely reserve football until the then-Wells reserve team manager Mike D’Arcy asked me to rejoin Tunbridge Wells with a view to hopefully breaking into the first team. There were still quite a few familiar faces at The Wells so I decided to make the switch.”

After two or three matches for the reserves, Phillips was spotted, and got the call-up by first team manager Martin Farnie ironically to play against Sevenoaks on the day after Boxing Day (2005-2006). “I did not expect to start, let alone play the whole match, and of course beat the club I had just come from. That was a great day for me. Since then I have played regular first team football for Tunbridge Wells and I’m looking forward to the 2008-2009 season,” he enthused.

In becoming established in first team football at Kent League level, though, Phillips had to adapt his game - and he remembers those first few appearances in The Wells first team clearly. “For the first few games I played in the Kent League, the physical side of the game was a big shock to me,” he admits. “However it’s part of the game if you’re going to play at this level, so while it took a few games to adapt, now it just comes as part of the game to me. Every match is going to be a battle, and you know that will be the case as soon as the whistle goes right though to the final whistle.

“Fitness is also very important at this level of the game, and the fitter teams generally seem to shine through as they can compete for the whole 90 minutes. But midfield is where I love to play, and part of the game I enjoy is the battling, therefore it is very important to me to be as fit as possible. I would not have it any other way, especially when you know you’ve got all your team mates around you. Everyone does their job and plays a part!”

And on the subject of everybody playing their part, the management at the club have often spoken of a good thing going at Culverden at the moment - something that Phillips supports entirely. “I can honestly say that this is the best group of players both in terms of technical ability and spirit I have ever played with,” he observes. “The team spirit is absolute quality both on and off the pitch, which I feel is really important in a successful team.

“Mike and Martin have put together a team of players who really want to work hard for each other on the pitch. There is no negativity amongst any of the players in the changing room or throughout the 90 minutes. There is a real balance of personalities in the dressing room which really helps. I’m sure it can only get better with time too and that’s part of the attraction with the team. So I believe everyone will be returning for pre-season and the challenge of the new season!”

Phillips forms part of a midfield with several promising names in it. Not only is there plenty of ability on display, but the age-range throughout that area of the pitch would suggest the majority have not yet reached their full potential.

“The midfield we have at Culverden right now is, in terms of Kent League standards, very young. I mean, apart from me, Gary Clarke and Barry Gardner are also only 22. Joe Fuller is the veteran of the four at the grand-age of 23! However all have experience both at Kent League level and higher. It’s quite unbelievable when you think of our success this year given our, average age. I believe we can only get stronger and stronger with every game, as we’ve shown this year.”

But Phillips warns that it’s not just the midfield that’s strong at the moment. “I feel the whole squad is incredibly strong - not just the midfield. For a midfield to perform well you need everybody in all positions to be performing right from the goalkeeper to the strikers! Once we started to gel and became settled we had some of the most experienced midfield players who have played for several years together chasing our shadows. This can only be a good thing at such an early stage of us developing together. Everyone knows their role, and we all know each others’ strengths and weaknesses.”

One thing Mike Robbins has identified as a priority is to have his midfield score more goals next season. “It’s nice that we are a goal scoring midfield now. There are also a lot of quality midfield players on the bench which really pushes the starting four to perform well each week, as they are hungry to get on the pitch. I believe this coming year will be a big year for the midfield and let’s hope we can improve further over the year just gone!

“The way Mike has encouraged us to play, I think we will produce goals from midfield anyway, and 10 goals a season from a midfield player is definitely possible” he adds. “We are very attack-minded and the fitness levels allow us to get up and down the pitch, converting a defended corner into a goal-scoring opportunity within seconds. I think just our style of play and possession allows the midfield to ‘bomb on’ and get in goal scoring positions. It is definitely an achievable goal that Mike is asking. Something I personally would love to achieve this coming season.”

Phillips is well aware that the promise shown during the last few months of last season has led to heightened expectations from management and supporters alike - and that is a challenge he is prepared to accept with open arms.

“The gaffer has said for the past four months ‘we just keep setting our own standards’, and this could not be more truthful! We have raised the bar both for the spectators’ expectations, and for our own personal standards throughout the club, including the management staff and us as players. We know when we have performed badly and we know when we can play better - but I do think it’s important to get the balance between confidence and being over confident, believing we can just turn up and play,” he warns. “Every game needs to be approached with the same mentality, and the performance that comes with it - I’m talking about the performances shown against all of the top four teams this year. It’s no good raising your game against the top sides, and being complacent against the lower placed sides.

“We know we can compete with, and beat the top teams, as proven in the last four months of last season, so we know that we should be up there with the best of them! Judging by the form tables, we know we could have been there if this team had come together last-August. However this coming season, we have that fresh start to the season, as well as the pre-season we have been looking forward to… So onwards and upwards!

“Next season, a cup run would be quality too. I was part of the Kent Senior Trophy team here at The Wells in the 2005-2006 season, and it really was the best feeling going out and playing in the Cup Final, even though we didn’t win. It’s definitely something to aim for this year and hopefully go one better! So I believe people aren’t wrong to be optimistic - we just need to knuckle down from pre-season and have a real go!”

So in wrapping up an interview, how do you ask a lively midfielder with the prime years of his career still ahead of him what he’d like to have achieved during his playing days when he finally decides to hang up his boots? Sound like the lead-in to a bad joke? Phillips certainly thinks so…

“Retirement!?!” he exclaims. “I have not really thought of that to be honest! You can never predict what will happen in football, but I suppose being part of Tunbridge Wells’ football team to win the Kent League and gain promotion to the Ryman League would be a start wouldn’t it? Watch this space…”

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