YORK City defender Jack Higgins has admitted he has first-hand experience of the havoc fellow summer signing Daniel Nti can wreak on teams.

Higgins was on the receiving end of a devastating attacking display by winger Nti last season as Stalybridge’s back four could not contain the then Worcester City speedster, who scored two goals and set up another two during his team’s 5-0 win.

The former PE teacher is, therefore, relieved to have the 23-year-old attacker in his own dressing room this term.

“I've had a laugh with Dan and told him I earned him his move after his performance against Stalybridge last season,” Higgins smiled. “He's really, really pacy and likes to get in behind and play off the defenders' shoulders and Kaine Felix is lightning quick as well.”

Higgins, Nti and Felix have all been recruited from the National League North’s semi-pro ranks and the towering centre back reckons City chief Jackie McNamara will benefit from adopting such an approach in the transfer market.

“Without stating the obvious, if you look at lads like Jamie Vardy who was still playing non-League football at 25, you can't argue with it as a policy,” he reasoned. “I've lost count of the number of lads I've played with in the past who could have played higher and made a career from the game, but not enough people look down the divisions in England.

“It's all about academies now and nurturing players from a young age, but you learn by playing games, not training and in under-21 matches, which are like friendly, uncompetitive games played at walking pace.”

Following his release as an apprentice from then full-time outfit Rushden & Diamonds, Higgins went on to learn his trade at Northern Premier League first division Clitheroe before moving up one level to Ashton.

He went on to make a further forward step last summer by joining Stalybridge and argues that his climb back up the leagues makes him better equipped to make a success of himself after being given a second stab in the pro game.

“I didn't feel I was given a fair crack at Rushden but, looking back, I wasn't good enough,” Higgins confessed. “I was 18, raw and I made mistakes, so I had to go into a lower level of football to learn the game and I'm glad I did.

“I'm nearly 25 and I think I've played about 285 games – not in the National League - but against people who have played at a high level and I'd rather be that player, than somebody who might have flitted around higher divisions trying to get a game here or there. I'm a lot more hardened than I would be if I'd done that.

“I would recommend to any young lad who is not playing to go to a good level where you are pushing yourself. I did that at Clitheroe and I moved up every time I thought I was getting in the comfort zone.

“I feel now that I've made my mistakes and I'll always work hard on the training ground to cut out any more.”

Higgins gave up a secure job as a PE teacher to sign for City, but revealed he had no hesitation when McNamara came calling for his services.

“It's everybody's dream to be a professional footballer and I've got friends who are so jealous of the position I'm in now, so it wasn't a big decision for me when York got in touch,” he admitted. “It was just a case of sorting things out with work and trying to get as fit as I could over the summer to make the step up to full time.

“It's hard as a semi-professional playing on a Tuesday night and getting back at stupid o'clock before getting up for work the next morning. You also have to make lots of sacrifices and, when you're picking up £25 a week, a lot of players will just go out on a Friday night, but I never did that.

“I wanted to push on and reach my end goal. Now, I want to get the chance to progress further through the leagues.”

City shipped 87 goals in League Two last term, while Higgins’ Stalybridge also suffered the third-worst, goals-against column in National League North, with 75 conceded.

But the 6ft 3in sentinel is confident that McNamara’s defensive pedigree will galvanise the Bootham Crescent back-line next term, saying: “Like York, we didn't keep many clean sheets at Stalybridge, but I am expecting, coming into full-time football, that our shape work and set-pieces will be a lot more organised.

“As a defender, the manager knows the score. He's played in a World Cup so he's, by no means, a mug and, if he wants me to work until 8pm every night so that we don't concede goals, I will do.”

Higgins also insisted that he would regard anything less than promotion during 2016/17 as failure.

“We want to go up and win the league, like every other team,” he declared. “There's no point entering otherwise.

“If we don't win the league, we want to win the play-offs and, if we don't do that, then it's not been good enough and we won't accept that.”