National League
Pete Wild admits it is a “massive achievement” for FC Halifax Town to be joint top of the National League but he insists “it means nothing” at this stage of the season.
Halifax are second behind leaders Chesterfield on goals difference following Tuesday’s 2-0 win over King’s Lynn.
Wild, who took charge of Halifax in July 2019, is uninterested in the table and sees as it more of a marker as to how far his team have come.
“It is a massive achievement but it means nothing at the moment,” Wild told Non League Yorkshire.
“It is just about getting points on the board and nothing is given out in the middle of December.
“In terms of progression during the two years I have been here we have gone from a hybrid to a full-time model.
“We’re clearly punching about our weight with budgets and we have one of the bottom six budgets in the league.
“To continue to produce teams on the pitch that are competitive is fantastic and that’s down to our recruitment and how much pride we take in our recruitment.”
Halifax are ahead of teams with wealth such as Notts County, Grimsby Town, Stockport County, Solihull Moors and Hollywood-backed Wrexham.
To stay in the title and play-offs race is clearly going to be tough.
“It would be massive (to sustain the challenge),” Wild said.
“The fans don’t like me saying it but it ‘plucky little Halifax’ in terms of finances and actual clout.
“Everybody thinks we’re going to fall away.
“But I think we have assembled one of the best squads since I have been here and that’s no disrespect to other squads I’ve had because they have been great lads.
“But I just have more strength-in-depth this year and I think that’s showing on the pitch.”
The victory over King’s Lynn was swung by two second half goals from Matty Warburton and Jack Vale.
But a change of tactics at the interval proved pivotal.
“When teams sit in against you and they are really deep, sometimes it is hard to break them down,” he said.
“The hardest thing in football to break down is teams who sit really low against you.
“So at half-time we tried to push men to become more attacking and not play as much in areas where there wasn’t much space.
“So we made a couple of tactical tweaks and luckily it worked for us.”
Halifax take a break from league action this weekend as they visit local rivals Bradford (Park Avenue) for the West Yorkshire derby in the FA Trophy Third Round tie.
The Shayman struggled against lower league Pontefract Collieries in the FA Cup earlier in the season and then went out in the second round to National North outfit Kidderminster Harriers two weeks ago.
Some managers would be tempted to use those two examples to warn his players ahead of another game against lower league opposition but not Wild.
“For us it is about doing what we do well,” he said.
“It is not about who we come up against.
“Who we come up against is irrelevant.
“It is about what we do and making sure we do what we’re good at in each and every game we go into.
“I don’t dwell on the past.
“I pay every team we play with the utmost respect and I have been sat watching Bradford (Park Avenue) this morning and making sure that I’m fully abreast of what they’re going to bring.
“We’ll make sure we are prepared as we would be for any other game that we play in the National League.
“We want to do well in all cup competitions and we want to progress in the Trophy.
“We’re taking the Trophy as seriously as any other game.
“We want to be the team in the next round and to keep progressing.
“It is high on our priority list as anything else.”
The Horsfall Stadium 3G pitch will suit Halifax due to their style of play and Wild expects it to be an entertaining match.
“Having watched Bradford, they are a good footballing side,” he said.
“I would rather watch teams who want to play on a 3G pitch as it makes for a better spectacle for the people paying.
“The last thing I want to watch is two teams launch it, it is not football for me.
“I want both teams to get it down and the 3G pitch will allow that and hopefully it is a good match.”