FC Halifax Town: King optimistic he can win his fitness battle

The FC Halifax Town playmaker made his first appearance for a month in the 0-0 draw at Woking on Saturday.

King has been suffering with a recurrence of debilitating problem that affects his breathing, but he is hopeful of overcoming the issue soon.

“I just haven’t felt well in myself so I’m working with some doctors,” he said.

“I’m feeling better, still not 100 per cent, but hopefully soon I’ll feel much better and be back to feeling myself.

“I started training again last week and felt good enough to play. Hopefully I can keep going and soon I’ll be fighting fit and back to my best. But it might take a bit of time.

“It could be a variety of things, so it’s just a case of having tests done, but I’m physically struggling.
“I’ve definitely noticed some changes in the last month so I’m trying to sort it out.

“I’ve loved this season so far and if it was to ruin it in any way I’d be absolutely gutted.

“I want to stay in and around the lads as much as I can and play as many minutes as I can.

“I felt good on Saturday, I felt like I could have played the full game, but in the circumstances me coming off was the right thing for the team.

“It was a good point in the end and hopefully we can get the three points at home this week.”

King said the problem caused him to pack the game in for a spell when he was younger.

“I had quite an episode of it back in Norwich, but I was young and I didn’t know how to deal with it,” he said.

“It definitely caused a lot of physical and mental problems for me.

“I stopped playing because I couldn’t deal with it.

“But I’m older and wiser now. Sitting down and doing nothing, worrying about it, isn’t going to make it any better.

“As long as I stay myself, do as much as I can and keep fit hopefully I can beat it and the doctors can help me push through it.”

When asked how the problem affects him, King said: “My breathing, I definitely struggle with my lungs. I get tired quite quickly and my muscles feel fatigued.

“Which is just what you don’t need to play sport!

“If I was sitting at a desk all day then I might not notice it.

“You know when you’re not right. Everyone has bad days but when it sticks around for a couple of weeks you know something’s not right.

“Maybe the symptoms are mental but that’s what I’m trying to figure out and hopefully I can come to a conclusion and beat it.

“With my symptoms it could be a range of things. It could be any illness, it could be muscle fatigue, but shortness of breath is a symptom of a lot of illnesses.

“But I’m positive, I’m not down about it. Obviously I’m frustrated but I’m not beating myself up about it.

“I want to keep playing, it’s not going to stop me. I’ve just got to put myself in the best frame of mind and the best physical state I can be.

“But I needed a break. I was not in a great place physically, I was really struggling.

“I was feeling physically and mentally drained, not from football but from the illness.”

The mystery condition makes King’s impressive performances for The Shaymen all the more admirable, with the 24-year-old’s skill and creativity winning him plenty of fans at The Shay.

“Sometimes I can play well and I come off the pitch and I’ll be angry and frustrated because physically I felt awful the whole game, and I couldn’t do what I was able to when I was 18, 19, when I could run around all day and dribble past everyone,” he said.

“Some days I still feel like I can do that but other days, I get frustrated with myself.”From the sideline you don’t see it but everyone has good and bad days, and at the minute, I’m struggling a bit more than usual.”

But King feels he copes better with the problem now than when he was younger.

“100 per cent. If I was the 18, 19-year-old at Norwich I’d have been in bed on Saturday night, playing on the Playstation, doing nothing,” he said.

“I’ve just got to be positive. I am still enjoying my football. It’s the best release you can ever have. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

King says the Town squad is determined to improve on their recent form, which has seen them win just once in their last seven matches.

”It’s a weird league, you can play really well and come away with nothing. Then some games you play awful and nick a 1-0,” he said.

”Overall we’ve done well. The last month our performances have dropped but everyone is in the right frame of mind to put it right, and we’re all working as one.

”There’s no issues with the group at all, everyone’s head is in the right place.

”That’s the frustrating thing, because we’re just not playing as well as we can. But that happens with every team at some point.

”We’ll take a slump now as long as we can put it right. We just need to play well at the right stages of the season.”