FC Halifax Town: Youngster Benn dreaming of first-team breakthrough

The defender, from Brighouse, signed a professional contract with The Shaymen earlier this season but is yet to make his senior bow for the club.

“Pete (Wild) was already looking at me and looking at new players, trying to get a squad together for the season,” said Benn.

“I’d been training with them for a couple of months, and the way I was progressing, I was playing down at Silsden and a few teams were starting to look at me, so I think it just Pete to offer me something, and thankfully he did.”

Before that, Benn was part of the club’s youth set-up, and is a former captain of that side.

“The youth set-up’s been brilliant,” he said. “When I first joined, because I was moving down into non-league (Benn was released by Chesterfield before joining Halifax), I was curious about what the facilities and the coaching would be like, but it really isn’t that much different at all to a League One side.

“The standard was great, the lads were great and it’s definitely helped me improve.

“Around my second year Steve Nichol helped me get in (training with the first-team), it was with Jamie Fullarton at the time.

“It started with just helping out, being in and around the first-team, but then progressed to getting involved in training.”

Benn, who attended Brighouse High School and played for Clifton Rangers when he was younger, reckons there are others in the Town youth set-up who could follow in his footsteps and earn a professional deal.

“The standard of the youth team’s great. The bridge between the youth team and the first team has got a lot closer.

“A few years ago it maybe wasn’t as tight, there wasn’t as much communication between the first team manager and the youth team manager, but now the gap has definitely closed.

“And there’s some good quality in the youth team, so you could definitely make a career out of a few of the lads.”

When asked what he felt was his strongest position, Benn said: “I joined the youth team as a right-back, played there for two years, but within training I’m at centre-half, which I feel I’m proving at.

“So, at the moment, I’d have to say centre-half.”

Does Benn see that as his future role in the game?

“I wouldn’t mind it, I do enjoy it as full-back, which is what I’m playing on loan at the moment, but I am improving quite well at centre-half, so I can definitely see myself progressing there.”

Nathan Clarke, a fellow Halifax born defender, is an obvious role model for Benn to follow.

“Clarkey’s an unreal professional, he’s brilliant. He’s definitely someone I can look up to and try to be like.

“He’s played at a very high level.

“Anything I can get from him, or the lads, advice-wse, is great. Matty Brown’s brilliant for advice, so is Tobi (Sho-Silva), and Clarkey. I’ve had some brilliant advice from them that’s helped me to be a better player.”

Benn, who is currently on loan at Brighouse Town, was a Halifax fan as a kid, and was at Wembley for Town’s 2016 FA Trophy final triumph over Grimsby Town.

“I used to come and watch them with my mates and to watch them get to Wembley was brilliant,” he said.

“I’ve played on The Shay for the youth team, but to play for the first-team squad, it’d be amazing, it’d be a dream come true to show the fans what I can do.

“I’m just going step-by-step, goal-by-goal. My next goal’s just to break into the Town team.

“I’m going to keep just trying my hardest in training, keep improving and just keep knocking on the door.

“Maybe not at this moment in time I’m not quite experienced enough to get in the squad, but hopefully next season I can start pushing, start knocking on that door at bit more.”