FC Halifax Town: “I’m more hungry than ever to prove myself” says Tear

The wing-back made just ten appearances last season, starting only once, with player of the year Jeff King’s form leaving little room for squad rotation.

But the 21-year-old says he learned a lot from having to sit on the sidelines, and is determined it will be different this campaign.

“I look back on last season as quite a big learning curve for me,” he said.

“Obviously I didn’t get as many games as I’d have liked, but I learned a lot in terms of managing myself when things aren’t going my way, and making sure that I take my chance when I get it.

“It was a big learning curve in terms of football but in terms of life as well, when things aren’t going your way, how you bounce back from it.

“At the time I thought ‘when am I going to get my chance’ to prove to myself, the gaffer and everyone that I can play at that level.

“Looking back at it now, was that the right time? Hopefully this season I’ll be able to get more game time.

“In the off-season, I’ve talked with the gaffer and Milly about making sure I came back well in pre-season, being aggressive was a big thing for me in terms of out of possession, making sure I’m aggressive with the press.”

Tear says last season’s lack of game-time has only increased his desire to play more this term.

“I said to my family after last year that, this year, I’m more hungry than ever to prove to myself and everyone that I can play at this level,” he said.

“So it’s more a case for me that, this year, it has to be a year of playing, I think everyone knows that.

“I really want to get my head down and make sure I can be the best I can be.”

The former Huddersfield and Gateshead man is confident about how Halifax will fare this season.

“I think we’ve looked really good in training, we’ve worked on a few different formations, I think we’re going to be sharp on the ball, try and play through the lines, be aggressive out of possession,” he said.

“We’re going to be a really tough team to break down out of possession I think, we’ve worked really well on our shape.

“And going forward we’ve looked really bright, really sharp, it’s just about putting those goals away, which hopefully will come.”

Tear added: “I think we should look to get promoted again.

“Obviously last year we just missed out on the last game of the season, but we’ve got to keep those standards high.

#“Everyone at this club wants to get out of this division and get promoted to the Football League, so I think that’s the aim for everyone.”