FC Halifax Town: Berrett glad to be back in the thick of the action

The former Huddersfield and Carlisle midfielder came straight into the side for his debut at Boreham Wood, and has been an ever-present since then.

All of which is a far cry from a summer spent training by himself after Grimsby released him at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

“I’m enjoying it, I’m glad to be back playing week in, week out and being out on the pitch again,” said the Halifax-born midfielder.

“It’s something you miss and I’m just happy I’m doing it again.

“I think I’ve done OK. I’m still catching up with my fitness, but now I’m getting to where I need to be.

“I think I struggled in the first few games fitness-wise because it does affect you not having a pre-season.

“I’ve had a good few 90 minutes now though so I feel up to speed.”

Berrett feels his first few games for Town acted as his pre-season.

“My first two games for a few months were on a Saturday then a Monday, so it was my pre-season, but then not in a way because it’s been proper games,” he said.

“It’s just something I’ve had to deal with. I try to keep myself fit anyway as much as I can.”

The 29-year-old is delighted to have started every game since joining The Shaymen.

“That’s pleasing, yeah,” he said. “Obviously as a player you want to play as much as you can, and I’ve come straight in.

“Hopefully I can stay in the team and help them as much as I can.”

It is the first time in Berrett’s career he has played outside the top four divisions, but he says the standard is similar to the Football League.

“It’s good. I wouldn’t say it was too different to League Two football,” he said.

“Some teams are direct, some play a bit more, but you get that in League Two as well, so I wouldn’t say the standard’s much lower.”

The Shaymen are without a win in six, and Berrett is keen for Town to rediscover their earlier form when they won five of their first seven matches.

“Hopefully we go back to the way we’d started the season, which was getting very good results,” he added.

“We’re always in games, apart from Maidenhead, where we had a sticky 45 and the game was over.

“But we’re a team that’s got pace and energy up-front, and if we’re always in games, we’ve got a chance, so hopefully we’ll start picking up points again.”