FC Halifax Town: It’s been a pleasure, says departing midfielder King

The midfielder joined Town from King’s Lynn under Jamie Fullarton in the summer of 2018, and made 34 appearances in his first season.He then played 35 times for Town under Pete Wild during the 2019-20 season.

King was offered a new contract by Town, but is keen to play closer to his East Anglian roots.

”When I signed the deal, it was a two-year contract, it was kind of like a ‘prove yourself’ kind of deal,” he said.

“Ever since then, I feel like I have at this level. At the time, I didn’t really have many other offers.

“I had a couple in the National League, and I chose Halifax because it was the best fit.

“A lot’s happened in the last year, both on and off the pitch, and I feel like I want to maybe play closer to home, if that’s going to make me enjoy my football even more.

“I feel like now’s the right time where I can make a decision, and hopefully be closer to home.

“If I can sign for a team where I’m not four hours from family, then happy days.”

King found himself in and out of the side under Fullarton, starting 20 games and making 14 substitute appearances.

In his second season, he started 27 times, and made eight substitute appearances.

Reflecting on the two years, he said: “When I signed for the club it was the first time I’d played at that level, and I didn’t really know what to expect.

“I got off to a slow start, felt like I should’ve been playing under Jamie Fullarton, and for some reason I wasn’t picked.

“It gave me a chance to sit back and watch, see what I needed to do to be able to play at this level.

“The first year was tough, we were in a relegation scrap at the end of the year, had a little run in the FA Cup, which was nice, but overall, it was an average year.

“Coming into the second year, we had a slow pre-season, but felt like we had a good team.

“I felt good at the start of the season, I was ready, new signings were coming in and looked good, and I felt like we had a good chance to compete.

“I loved the season, obviously had some highs and lows but overall it was a pleasure to play in the team. I loved working under the gaffer (Pete Wild) and Milly (Chris Millington).

“They were a breath of fresh air ever since they walked into the building. Overall, a really enjoyable year.
“We didn’t finish what we started, but I don’t know if the fans were expecting us to be that high in the table. We certainly did and we kind of felt like we let ourselves down a bit in the play-offs.

“But we can’t look back on it too much, we gave it our best and it wasn’t meant to be.”

King says he has developed as a player during his two seasons at The Shay.

“I always found the league challenging, every game is so different and every game is a fight,” he said.

“I always felt like I was only as good as my last game. If I had a good game then I’d be confident going into the next one but it can all change.

“I’ve learned that you have to turn up every week, there’s no byes, no gimmes.

“You have to be on it every week. I’ll hold my hands up, there were some games I would go into thinking ‘I played well last week, and it’ll be the same this week’ and maybe my mindset wasn’t right.
“I suppose everyone’s guilty of that at times.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot, I guess from both management teams, both very different.

“I’m so thankful for the experience, thankful for the club.

“I’m gutted, obviously if it was close to home it would be a no brainer (to have stayed), but it’s something that I’ve thought about over the last six months and I’ve made the decision now.”

King feels he had a good relationship with the Town supporters, who he enjoyed playing in-front of.

“I haven’t got a bad word to say about them, they’ve been brilliant, last year and especially this year,” he said.

“I think they deserve to be back in the Football League, I do think it’s only a matter of time.

“I will miss playing in-front of the fans because they were good people and I always felt like I had a good relationship with them off the field as well. I wish them all the best, I really do.”

King has no doubts that boss Pete Wild is the right man for The Shaymen, having guided them to the play-offs last season.

“He’s a young manager but he definitely knows football,” King said.

“You’ve seen what happened with teams like Fylde last season, had a great year before that and then faded away, so you can’t get too comfortable.

“The league is a tough league to play in week-in, week-out, it’s relentless.

“If you pick up a bad stretch of form, which we’ve done a couple of times in the last two years, you can go 10 games quickly without winning.

“But I think he’s definitely switched on enough to handle it. This year was probably a great learning curve for him.

“He’s got to bring some fresh faces in but there’s still some great players at the club.

“I think the likes of Jack Earing is ready. I don’t think the fans have seen how good he really is.

“If he gets a run of games and some confidence, he can be one of the best midfielders in the league, I believe.

“I think the fans should be looking forward to watching the likes of Jack playing, and a few others.”

As for his own future, King said: “I’m still undecided. I think the fans have already made their mind up for me where I’m going!

“The season won’t start until October so I’m in no rush. As long as I have a team six weeks before the start of the season then I’ll be good to go.

“I’m going to sit down and talk with my family and my agent, and see what the best next move is.

“But there’s nothing set in stone.”