"It's the best I've felt in a long time" - Ben Tollitt on joining Town, his superb form and chasing the play-offs

The 31-year-old winger has eight goals and seven assists in all competitions and has been one of The Shaymen's outstanding players so far this season.

Tollitt came close to joining Halifax before but says it's better late than never.

"There's been a couple of chances," he said. "I think I'd been put into the club when Pete Wild and Chris Millington were there, and for whatever reason, it never worked out.

"I think I ended up going to Oldham and I scored at Halifax when they won 2-1.

"I went to Morecambe in League Two, which was a good opportunity, and I won fans' player of the year in my first year.

"But I am genuinely loving my time here, I'm enjoying it and my performances and my numbers are reflective of that, so it's nice to have landed here eventually!"

Tollitt has made the left-wing spot his own at Town, but is generous in his praise for others for his form.

"I'm made up, I did a lot of work in the summer," he said.

"I'm not just saying it as just a nice thing to say, but it's playing in the team I'm playing in.

"The staff have been brilliant so far with me. Forward players sometimes need an arm round them, a bit of a confidence boost.

"They've just told me from the beginning 'we know what you're good at, keep doing what you're good at'.

"It's been good. It's nothing against being at Morecambe for the last two seasons but being at a club that always challenges for top-half finishes rather than being in a survival battle is obviously better.

"We've got a great squad. You know what good teams are and all the lads are brilliant and hungry, wanting to prove themselves and push on.

"Even me, I'm just into my thirties but I want to have a good season and hopefully push on.

"If that's with Halifax, great, but if not, just better my career, which is the way you should always want to be."

Tollitt feels this is the best form he has shown on the pitch for a few seasons.

"I'd say for a long time, yeah.

"I did my cruciate at Tranmere when I was playing really well, which scuppered me a bit.

"I feel like this is my best time since then. I had a good spell at Fylde, during Covid, and at the beginning of my time at Oldham.

"But I feel like this is the first time in a good few years where I feel good, not just physically but as myself.

"It's the best I've felt in a long time, and it's starting to show, but it's only November so it's only a third of the job done."

Tollitt is thriving under the management of John McGrath, who has started him more than any of his other wide players this season.

"We work on things in training and we go through analysis.

"He'll give us pointers here and there, 'this could work', 'we'll try this', just like you'd expect a manager to do.

"But once we step over that white line, it's on us to be able to perform ourselves.

"He also gives us the confidence of being 'I believe in you, I know what you're good at, you go and do it', just all positivity.

"And I think that's massive, confidence for attacking players, that's what you want. You want a manager to believe in you, to tell you when you can do better but tell you when you're doing good as well.

"He's been great with me as a person, so it's been a good recipe really."

Town are three places and four points outside the National League top seven, and Tollitt is optimistic they can eventually secure a play-off spot.

"The lads we have here are really, really good," he said.

"Hunger is a big thing I believe in and the lads want to showcase themselves, for Halifax and for their own careers.

"Everyone's fighting for that because that's what they want.

"We went toe-to-toe with Boreham Wood, with Forest Green, we lost to them due to little errors.

"Southend away, we battled there. I don't think we've been rolled over and there have been times where we've steamrolled teams.

"Yeovil were fourth or fifth when we played them and we got a comfy 2-0 win.

"We had a really good performance at Cheltenham, it was never a 2-0 game, and they're in the play-offs in League Two.

"So if we can be consistent with our performances, like we have been, the results will come.

"Home form is very good, but if swe can pick our away form up, that'll only help us.

"I do fancy our chances to finish well.

"I think Boreham Wood have run away with it now but our aim has to be to keep touch with the teams in the play-offs and, over time, claw it back and get ourselves in there."

Consistency has been a constant message from McGrath as well when discussing the key factors in a promotion push.

"If you could know the recipe, you'd be worth a lot of money because you could sell it!," Tollitt said.

"In competitive sport, you want what other people have got and they want what you've got. No-one's going to give it to you.

"Of course there comes a point where you have to worry about results, but I think if you can consistently try to do the right things, all the time, things have to eventually fall in your favour.

"We had a little blip against Barrow but for 70 minutes, we were brilliant. So it's remembering 80 per cent of that game was brilliant, so don't let the other 20 per cent define you.

"And we went into the Yeovil game and were brilliant for 90 minutes.

"It's continuously trying to remember to do the right things.

"One game at a time, concentrate on your performances, and hopefully your position reflects it."

After last Saturday's FA Cup defeat at Cheltenham, Halifax return to league action on Saturday at Kidderminster, one of Tollitt's former teams.

"It's just the same as every game, you want to win, whether it's a former club or not," he said.

"It's three points that we want and they also want.

"It's going to be a battle but we want what they want and they want what we want, so it's going to be a good game.

"Kidderminster always seem to do well in the FA Cup, they beat a League One side in Doncaster.

"It wasn't one of my best times at that club, I personally had a lot of stuff going on, but whether it's a former club or not, I want to go there and do well, and fingers crossed, we can."