Former Town defender Benn a fine example for youth team players to follow, says Nichol

Nichol says the recent sale of Jay Benn to League One side Lincoln City is testament to the joined-up thinking at The Shay, and proves there is a pathway to the first-team for talented youngsters at the club.

Benn was at hometown club Halifax for five years, spending two years as a youth-team player before serving as a pro for three years.

He joined Halifax after being released by Chesterfield, and Nichol says his ability soon became obvious.

"I remember his first game, it was a friendly against Bradford Park Avenue when we had Mark Trueman as manager," Nichol said.

"We were superb that night in terms of the quality of football and Jay just fitted in really well.

"You could see his traits as a player straight away, he was good on the ball, he was clever tactically and he wanted to make forward runs.

"He was very close to leaving the club at the end of his youth team programme.

"He had Michael Duckworth and Jacob Hanson in-front of him at the time and it was suggested that, with those two players ahead of him, he maybe wasn't going to be able to progress any further at the club.

"Thankfully Pete and Milly then came in, Jay and one or two other youth team players came back in at that point and he had a good run in pre-season.

"He'd played against Doncaster, when myself and Nathan Clarke took the team, and a couple of games after that, and he earned the right to stay around Pete and Milly when they came in.

"I think they saw something in him, they sent him out on loan to Silsden and then he moved to Brighouse, so he played around 30 games in senior football as an under 19 and I think that really helped his development.

"We were getting good reviews on him. Then Covid hit so he spent a lot more time around the first-team, which benefitted him in a different way."

Nichol admits his move to League One is a big step up for Benn but says he wasn't surprised a Football League club came in for him.

"He's still new to senior football so he's got a long way to go, but I'm sot surprised he's moved forwards in the game," Nichol said.

"Some of the discussions we had as he was coming out of the youth team programme were that he fits a lot of what the modern-day full-back is, he had a good technical base, very good game understanding, he communicated well and had some good physical traits as well.

"Jay was about being given time and a pathway, and if he keeps working hard he's in control of where he goes."

Nichol says The Shaymen played a significant part in Benn's development, initially in giving him a chance and then helping him each the first-team.

"I think it's a combination of the club as a whole - the youth team managed to keep him in the game and gave him a good pathway, but because of the connection we have with the first-team we were able to integrate him with them," he said.

"It's something we're really keen to do with all our youth-team players. Four or five lads have been in and around the first-team in pre-season and the quicker we can get lads into this environment, with this level of player, it will develop them much better.

"The combination of that and playing senior football, on top of the youth team side of it, is what's been helping us develop our players."

Benn is the latest former Halifax youth-team player to flourish away from The Shay, with goalkeeper Carl Rushworth now at Premier League Brighton and defender Ross Barrows a full-time pro at Altrincham.

"I think we've demonstrated there's a pathway here for players, you can't guarantee it for everybody, but certainly for those players who have the right attitude and perform well, there's a chance to progress at the club," Nichol said.

"This club, like any club, faces the challenge of the 18 to 20 age bracket and how you move from youth team into senior football, I don't think anyone's fully cracked that yet, from the very top with the under 23 leagues down to the lower levels.

"It's more about looking at each individual player and trying to create the right pathway for them based on where they are in their game, what their strengths are, what type of clubs would suit them out on loan.

"I think the best thing for us is getting our players up and around our first-team, getting them around the staff and the players, and then if we can get them senior football alongside that."

Nichol is optimistic there are players in the youth set-up at Town who can follow in the footsteps of Benn and reach the first-team.

"There's players who I think are good enough to progress," he said.

"I don't think it comes down purely to ability though, it comes down to their work ethic, their attitude and whether they're willing to stick at it.

"If you think about Jay, he took two years before he got that breakthrough, on top of his time in the youth team programme, so he was given time.

"But he's also had to be patient and see what that sort of pathway looked like. In fairness to Jay, he had the dedication to stick to it.

"In terms of ability, I think we have players who, if they embrace the opportunities they have, could step up.

"But it comes down to what they are as people as much as players."