Former Player Remembers - Phil Gilchrist - 'The Team Spirit Was Unreal'

davieG · 8 September

'The Team Spirit Was Unreal' - Phil Gilchrist On Foxes Career

by John Hutchinson

In conversation with Club Historian John Hutchinson, centre-back Phil Gilchrist recalls his career in football, including making over half a century of appearances for Martin O’Neill’s Leicester City.
Phil, born in Stockton-on-Tees, began his career on schoolboy forms with Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, but moved to Middlesbrough in January 1992 and then to Hartlepool United a few months later.
“While playing for Middlesbrough’s reserves, Hartlepool spotted me and I signed because I wanted first team football,” Phil explained. “My Hartlepool debut was against Stoke City and that was the start for me. Playing league football aged 19 was invaluable. We had some difficult times at Hartlepool when we didn’t get paid for a bit, but it was a good footballing experience.”
In February 1995, Phil moved to Oxford. In his first full season at Manor Road, the U’s were promoted to the second tier in 1996, and he went on to play 238 games for them in his two spells playing for the Club.
“After I’d played at Hartlepool for three and a bit years, Oxford came in for me,” Phil recalled. “It was a step up and I played alongside Matty Elliott. We ended up living in the same road. Dennis Smith was the manager. He was a hard man. He told me he had played with a broken leg once! It was a good set-up.
“The Manor Ground was a quirky old place although the pitch was magnificent. The groundsman never let us on it until it was matchday. It was great there. I’d just got married and there was a nice atmosphere of young couples, some with children.

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