Becoming a dad changed everything.

I didn’t expect it to happen so young — but maybe that’s the point. You grow up fast. You see life differently. The world doesn't just revolve around your career anymore. There’s more to think about. More to pour yourself into. More to live for. 

And I wouldn’t change it for anything.

I remember the moment it all clicked so clearly. The realisation that it wasn’t just about me anymore. I was still learning who I was, still trying to make a name for myself in the game. Then you realise you’re making a name for your little ones too.

When a young academy player makes it to your screen, I get that it can feel like they spawned out of nowhere from the outside. But I spent most of my life with tunnel vision in order to make my dream a reality. It was the only thing that mattered.

Still, every lesson along the way was well worth it. One of the biggest things fatherhood taught me is that you can’t give them everything, even if you really really want to. You’ve got to let them learn, like you did. They’ve got to grow and that happens best when you don’t overstep or act too overprotective.

I see it with my kids now — how quickly they change and build their own little personalities. Watching them become their own people, that’s what stays with you. Those are the real moments.

I’ve taken my little Ronnie fishing a couple of times — he’s still more interested in throwing all the bait into the water within the first few minutes than catching anything, but that’s what makes it special. It’s not about doing it “right”. It’s about making memories that live on forever, ones he can think fondly of when someone asks him about his dad. 

Looking back, I’ve been lucky to have father figures outside the family too — coaches at the academy who put an arm around my shoulder when I needed it most. They didn’t just teach me how to play, they taught me how to carry myself. How to be a man. That’s something I hold dear with me now as a dad.

Fatherhood isn’t always perfect. Some days are harder than others. But it’s real. It’s rewarding. And it’s the most important thing in my life.

I hope one day, my children will look back and say I was there, I cared and I tried to be the best dad I could be.

That’s what this journey is about.

— Phil

Putting in the extra hours in the pouring rain, pushing myself beyond what I thought I was capable of — all to make sure the younger Phil within me could be proud of the Phil he sees today. 

But now I had someone else looking up to me. Depending on me. That kind of responsibility shapes you. 

People ask me how I coped. Truth is, it wasn’t easy. It never is. Trying to be present as a father when you’re constantly on the road, playing week in, week out — it takes balance. It takes patience. But more than anything, it takes love.

I leaned on my own parents. My dad. Just asking the basic things — feeding, changing nappies, all that day-to-day stuff that suddenly becomes your world. 

I’d gone toe-to-toe with some of the best footballers of my generation, but nothing prepares you for the first night your baby doesn’t stop crying. 

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