Former Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips has opened up about his memories surrounding his 'Granny Val' and also how his mother helped him break through at a young age at Elland Road.
The 27-year-old spent four years in the Whites academy system before spending eight years as part of the senior team amidst his time at Thorp Arch and played 234 times in a senior Leeds shirt across his 12-year spell with the club.
But while he was in the youth setup as a teenager, it was his mother who pushed for him to have time off school even though his headteacher was adamant he wouldn't make it as a professional.
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"We used to go to Leeds on day release so we'd miss Tuesdays and Thursdays off school," Phillips said in a video from Manchester City. "So we'd take our homework and stuff with us, and do it at football before we trained.
"That was all part of getting you through the scholarship section, up the ranks at Leeds. And I remember asking the school and the Headteacher came back with an email saying, 'We're not going to allow Kalvin out on day release. I hope Kalvin realises that not many people make it as professional footballers. So we'd like him to stay in school.'
"Obviously with my Mum being the person that she is and how hard she's worked to get me to that point, she wrote back and said, 'Kalvin is going on the day release and you can mark him down as absent on Tuesdays and Thursdays'.
"I don't know how she managed to get that to stick! The rest is history!
"It was just the fact she believed in me, which made me believe in myself even more. Every time I was on the training pitch, I'd work harder to make sure I got to a point where I could be there and look after certain things and aspects of her life."
Phillips also highlighted his grandmother's involvement in his upbringing, who became famous amongst Leeds fans after her starring role in the Amazon series which focused on Leeds United’s 2018/19 Championship season.
"When we used to go to our Grans, she always used to make sure we'd never get too big for our boots, she always used to say that. 'Don't get too big headed', which obviously I try my best to do now and I always look back at that advice.
"I'd like to think I'm quite a humble person, you'll never really see me being too cocky or too confident in myself. Her best qualities were just being around her.
"Just the way that she was. Obviously not many people know this, because it's our family, but we used to just go over and she'd make us laugh. She'd act in certain ways and we have a load of video recordings where she'd get so into a programme, she used to mime the words that people are saying!
"But it's just about being around her, being in her company because she was an amazing woman and there wasn't one day that went by where she didn't make us laugh. It's sad she's not here with us anymore but I still take these memories and cherish them."
Phillips' comments come on International Women's Day, a global holiday that aims to bring attention to issues regarding gender equality, violence and abuse against women and to celebrate the social, political and cultural achievements of women in our society.
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