FC HALIFAX Town currently find themselves in eighth position and within reach of the play-offs ahead of their Yorkshire derby with York City on Saturday.

York will travel to Halifax on Saturday, October 26 (3pm) looking to build upon back-to-back victories in the Vanarama National League.

The Press spoke to Halifax Courier reporter Tom Scargill on what York can expect from the Shaymen at the weekend.

Halifax currently find themselves in 7th and in the play-offs – how would you summarise the season so far?

I’d say performances have been mixed, but that’s to be expected for what is a young group and with a few new signings to bed in. They’ve also had injuries to contend with, which have been disruptive.

Their inconsistency has been their biggest flaw so far, going from playing well and looking solid to playing poorly and looking vulnerable.

By and large though, they’ve done okay and they can never been faulted for effort or commitment.

I think some encouragement should be taken from the fact that they haven’t been on their best form yet and that they’re a young group with improvement to come, and they still find themselves in mix for the play-off places.

Things could have been better but they could also have been a lot worse.

Are there any key players that have impressed so far that York City should be wary of?

Billy Waters is the obvious one that springs to mind.

He had a prolific spell first time round at Town that earned him a move into the EFL with Barrow and then he went to Wrexham, but now he’s back on loan and he’s certainly added an extra dimension to them up top, giving them the goalscoring ability they would otherwise have sorely lacked.

Players like Andrew Oluwabori and Florent Hoti have got outstanding ability on the ball but have blown hot and cold too much so far this season - they, like the team, need to add consistency to their game.

How does Chris Millington tend to set the team up and what style of play?

It tends to be a 4-2-3-1 system but they’re also not averse to changing shape, sometimes in game if needed.

They like to play through the thirds and build from the back but they’re also willing to mix it up and be more direct too.

They work extremely hard as a team and like to try and nick the ball in good areas, but in build up play, they’ll try to get their attacking players on the ball in the opposition half and let them try to work openings.

What do you think of York as an opposition?

I was very impressed by their summer signings.

It’s one thing having the money they do to throw around but its another thing to spend it in the right way and I think their transfer business was really good.

It’s a really open league this season and I can’t see another Chesterfield who run away with the title but for me, York have to be one of the favourites for promotion.

I’ve probably been more impressed by how they’ve done defensively - they have some excellent attacking options for this level but their defensive record so far this campaign bodes well for them.

How has Will Smith settled in with Halifax (was good for York last season)?

He’s been superb. Town lost Jamie Stott in the summer who was their defensive lynchpin, so Smith had big shoes to fill but he’s really impressed.

He’s brave, committed and dominant aerially. He’s been Mr Consistent for me this season in the Town side.

A really good signing.