FC Halifax Town: “It will be weird being in the away changing room” - Kosylo on his Shay return with Fylde

The winger’s dazzling displays for Nantwich in their two-legged FA Trophy semi-final with Halifax in 2016 helped earn him his move to West Yorkshire.

And now he will return with new club Fylde, having left Halifax over the summer for their National League rivals.

“It will be weird, I went there with Nantwich the year before I signed, but having been there for three years, it will be weird being in the away changing room,” he said.

“But at the same time I’m that sort of mentality where I’m with a new employer now and I’m there to do a job, so I’ll be turning up fully focused.”

Kosylo is enjoying life with last season’s play-off finalists and FA Trophy winners.

“It’s good, it’s a little bit different to last year in terms of the way we play, and I’m enjoying that,” he said.

“I didn’t start the first few games but I wasn’t getting picked at the start at Halifax so I’ve got that sort of mentality where I’ll just keep my head down, work hard and keep going until my chance arises.

“Hopefully that’s happened a bit now, I got my goal at Hartlepool and I felt, although we succumbed to a heavy defeat on Saturday, that I did OK.

“Could be a lot better, but I feel like I’m finding my feet a little bit now.”

Fylde go into the match aiming to bounce back from a surprise 4-1 home defeat to newly promoted Woking last time out.

“I think that’s down to us as players,” said Kosylo. “Some teams might start feeling the pressure of a defeat and go the other way, some teams will bounce back, have the bit between their teeth and not like what they’ve just experienced.

“I know which way I’m going and based on training, I expect the rest of the team are going the same way as me in terms of wanting to put things right, and they’re more than motivated to do it.”

Hot-shot Danny Rowe is already up and running this season, having netted 27 and 24 goals in his previous two National League campaigns respectively.

“He’s very decisive with his decision-making, so if he wants to shoot, he’s going to shoot,” Kosylo said of his team-mate.

“It doesn’t matter if you try and block him because he can shoot with both feet.

“It’s difficult from trying to stop him doing what he wants to do because if you let him shoot with his left, most of the time he’s going to get it on target.

“If he shoots with his right, that’s his stronger foot.

“He puts defenders in a tough situation where ‘what do you do?’. Do you dive in and he chops you, like he does to most defenders.

“He’s got two already this season, and I’m more than confident he’ll have another high-scoring season.”

As for the team, Kosylo says a top-seven finish is the least Fylde should be aiming for.

“I would say play-offs minimum, especially after the last two years - that would be the ambition,” he said.

“Everyone’s putting us as title favourites at the start of the season, but this league is tough.

“We just played a team that’s been promoted from the Conference South and they beat us 4-1.

“I remember my first time in the league with Halifax and I found out how difficult it was very quickly.

“After beating Leyton Orient 3-0 I said to Matty Brown ‘it’s not too bad this league is it?’ and he told that it would get more difficult, and then we went on a run of not winning in about 20 games.”

Kosylo, who scored 31 goals for The Shaymen, is still in touch with some of his former Town colleagues.

He said: “I speak to Browny, I had a couple of messages with Clarkey and I spoke to Cam King as well.

“The lads were really good there last year, we just had a tough time.

“It wasn’t very pleasing to watch at times but at the same time, there were occasions where you probably saw the potential of what we could do in terms of attacking play.

“I really got on with the lads, and I hope they’d say the same about me.

“I’ve got no grudges towards Halifax or anything, it more just personal things that didn’t go my way last year, which I was disappointed with.”