FC Halifax Town: "I can't thank the fans enough for what they did over my five years" says departing winger Macdonald

But five years on, the winger leaves The Shay as a fans' favourite after making 132 appearances for the club, including the 2016 FA Trophy final victory at Wembley.

"I've been there for five years so it's not easy to leave the club," said Macdonald, who was released after his contract came to an end.

"Along the way you meet a lot of people, especially within the club.

"I've met a lot of people who are good friends, like Browny (Matty Brown), Sam (Johnson) and Kosy (Matty Kosylo).

"But I had to do it for myself because I feel I needed a fresh start."

Macdonald joined Town from Marske United and quickly endeared himself to Town supporters with his pace and directness down the right flank.

"I remember playing a trial game under Neil (Aspin) and he wanted to sign me straight away," he recalled.

"As soon as I was going to the ground as a player, it was a big surprise, I couldn't believe how big the club was.

"I was just excited to get started. I was only 19, 20.

"Aspin was brilliant with me. He always said 'if you're good enough it doesn't matter about your age'.

"I started quite a lot of games that year considering how old I was.

"When Aspin got sacked, it wasn't the best news. If it wasn't for Neil I probably wouldn't be where I am now,

"How many managers did we have that season? It is hard for the fans and the players, when a new manager comes in you have to change the way you do things, the way you play.

"But when it got a bit settled when Jim (Harvey) came in, I think you could see from the performances towards the back end of the season, we were a decent side and we could pick some good results up.

"At Christmas time people probably thought we were going to go down, but we picked a few good results up, Jim had us playing how he wanted, we had the system, everyone knew their jobs, and we went on a good little run, took it to the last game against Macclesfield.

"We needed to win but drew 1-1. Then we got to the Trophy final so it ended on a high."

Macdonald started Town's memorable 1-0 win over Grimsby at Wembley in 2016.

"It's probably the best moment in my career so far, it was brilliant," he recalls.

"There's not many professional football players who can say they've played there so it was a big opportunity for us.

"From the Friday to the Sunday, everything was just so good - the pitch, the training, even all the fans, how many turned out.

"It was just crazy. When you get in there, I can remember walking out of the tunnel and you look at the far stand, you can't even see over the top of it because it's that high.

"You look around and you think 'it's a good point in your career to get somewhere like that'.

"It wouldn't have been the same if we'd lost, so at full-time, to win it, was just great, especially to give something back to the fans after the relegation.

"It was a lot on our shoulders, and we wanted to give them that for the support they gave us that season."

The following campaign saw Billy Heath lead Halifax to promotion from the Conference North.

"That was probably the best changing room I've played in," says Macdonald. "Everyone got on so well.

"It was a big task because it's a really tough league to get out of, and to get straight back up was a massive achievement.

"We hit a bit of a bad spell, lost a few games on the bounce and people were thinking we weren't going to do it, but we couldn't have had a better changing room to turn that around.

"We did it the hard way through the play-offs but we did it in the end.

Macdonald added: "Billy was excellent, he was brilliant for me. He gave me the freedom to go and do what I wanted to do.

"It was helpful for me having Dents (Tom Denton) there as well. I just had to get the ball in the box and if I put it into a good area I knew he'd score.

"We had Kosy on the other side, I think we had a really good team that year.

"There was Bobby (Mark Carroll) as well with his training, they were always happy and willing to speak to you if you had any problems.

"That was a really good year."

The following campaign, 2017-18, saw Macdonald sustain a serious injury suddenly brought his career to a juddering halt.

"Before I got injured I was probably playing the best football in my career, I felt like I was in a good place," he says.

"But things happen for a reason and I couldn't dwell on that.

"I know it was a serious injury but I couldn't let it get the better of me because I could have not been back playing again.

"It was a really tough time for me, there were a lot of things at home that went on that I had to sacrifice because of what happened.

"But I thought it's what I've done my whole life, and what I've worked for, so I just got my head down, did my rehab, didn't cut any corners, and now I'm back playing."

Macdonald is grateful to Town for the support they offered him during his battle with injury.

"I spoke to David (Bosomworth) because he rang me to wish me all the best (after being released), and I said to him I couldn't have asked the club to have been any better to me," he says.

"They paid someone close to home to do my rehab so I didn't have to travel up and down all the time, they were supportive financially and they offered me a new deal because I was out of contract.

"I couldn't have asked for any more. I can't thank David and the club enough for what they did for me,

"It was a long time. I did my knee in the Ebbsfleet game but I got told it was something a bit different.

"I rehabbed that, went into training and then ended up doing it even worse, which is why I was out a bit longer than I probably should've been.

"But with injuries like that, you can't rush back into things, and when the day came, the gaffer (Pete Wild) told me I was going to be on the bench and I was just over the moon. I couldn't wait to get to the game, it was a home game against Fylde.

"When he said 'get your top on, you're going on' I was a bit nervous because I hadn't played for that long, but as soon as my name was announced and all the fans were singing my name, I couldn't have asked for a warmer welcome back."

Macdonald says he feels a strong affinity with the Halifax fans.

"I've been there five years and I wanted to win for that club, I wanted to try and get the club back to where it should be," he says.

"It should be pushing on to get back into the Football League.

"I appreciate everything the fans did over the years, supporting us through the ups and downs.

"The club's nothing without the fans and the fans there are absolutely crazy.

"It's a really good fan-base.

"I wouldn't change any of the five years for anything. It was the best five years of my football career so far.

"They've been a massive part of my five years at the club, even through injury, I used to get messages on social media from fans asking how I was.

"For me, it was quite emotional because you don't realise how much you mean to some of the fans.

"I can't thank the fans enough for what they did over my five years, the support they gave me."

When asked how much he has changed since joining The Shaymen back in 2015, Macdonald says: "When I signed I was this little skinny boy who no-one really knew anything about.

"But I knew I had the ability to step up.

"What knocked me back a bit was maybe my physicality, I needed to fill out a bit.

"But training and doing extra work at home has really helped me push on.

"Before I got injured I was playing the best football I'd played.

"There was stuff I had to work on, I knew I had to if I wanted to stay at his level, but I think I showed before I got injured that I could cope with the physical side as well as creating things for the team."

Macdonald found first-team opportunities hard to come by under Town boss Pete Wild after recovering from injury, but says there is no ill feeling towards him.

"It was a frustrating time. I went out on loan to get some games, which needed to happen," he says.

"I hadn't played any competitive games, so I went there and did OK, got a few goals, and when I came back I did feel ready.

"But I felt I needed a bit more time to adjust to the way that league played.

"I played the first four games when I came back and then the gaffer changed the formation, which didn't help, and then I was frustrated, I wasn't really enjoying it.

"Then COVID came about, we had our time off, it wasn't nice at the time but for me, having that little break, I think I needed it.

"I came back and I was raring to go, I trained well, but when it came to it, the gaffer didn't pick me to be in the squad.

"But I've got no hard feelings against the gaffer, he's been great for me as well. He's not left me out of anything, so I've got no qualms about the gaffer, we didn't fall out or anything like that.

"But I think it (his departure) was coming."

As for what's next, Macdonald is hoping he will remain a National League player, and perhaps appear at The Shay again soon.

"I've had a few phone calls so I'm just waiting to see what's best for me," he says.

"We'll see how it pans out and hopefully I can stay in that league and come across Halifax again.

"I don't think I got the run of games I needed to get back to where I was.

"I think I needed someone who knew what I could do to give me that run of games, but Pete didn't see much of me before that, so he was coming in not knowing much of me.

"Hopefully wherever I end up I can kick on again and get some games under my belt."