IN THE two years since he left East End, Josh Falkingham has been riding the crest of a wave back home in Yorkshire.

After bidding farewell to Athletic with a League One winner's medal in his pocket, the popular midfielder can now be found at the heart of Harrogate Town's bid to reach the Football League after captaining them to promotion last season.

In addition to being given the armband after moving from Darlington last summer, the 28-year-old also assumed responsibility for coaching their under-21 side – and immediately guided them to title success.

With all that in mind, and the fact that Harrogate is only 20 miles from his native Leeds, it's little surprise to discover that "loving it" is Falkingham's assessment of where his career is at now.

But, in a wide-ranging interview ahead of his former club's trip to play Town's National League rivals, Boreham Wood, in the Irn-Bru Cup, he admitted that the Pars still have a strong pull on his heart strings.

"If the chance ever came to come back, and it was right for me, I would seriously look at it," he told Press Sport.

"I loved Dunfermline and I hope that you all do well. It was brilliant and my family love to come up.

"I'm not sure about the playing side – although I think, to be fair, I've a few years left in me – but if an opportunity ever arose, whether playing or coaching, I'd look at it.

"The club was great and the fans were brilliant. In the time I spent there, we went through some tough times but you saw the fans got behind it, and it's something I'll always remember.

"Fans still message me on Twitter and Facebook, which is really nice, so that affinity is still there. I still look out for the results every single week, even though quite a few of the lads have left from when I was there.

"I made it clear that I didn't want to leave but the decision was taken out of my hands. That's football and I don't look back; you have to look forward and that's the kind of lad I am.

"It was a tough year after leaving Dunfermline. It was a massive wake-up call; there were a lot of bodies scrambling looking for clubs, and I found myself on that heap.

"It was a difficult time but I managed to get full-time football, and Harrogate is right on my doorstep. Everything came together and I got the enjoyment factor back.

"We're doing really well and, since I joined, from minute one we've been flying high. I'm loving it."

After 10 games in English football's fifth tier, Harrogate sit proudly at the top of the table, having picked up six wins and four draws in an unbeaten start to the campaign.

One of those games saw him come up against former Pars pal Joe Cardle, who himself departed East End in the summer before joining AFC Fylde.

"I spoke with Jo-Jo when we played them a couple of weeks ago," Falkingham continued.

"We spoke about our time at Dunfermline but it was bizarre that now we were playing against each other in the National League.

"I still speak to Whitts (Alex Whittle), I speak with Callum (Morris), although I know he's left again, and Ryan Williamson. I was delighted when he got called up for Scotland (under-21s). I met Sean Murdoch as well when he came down to Bradford (to see a specialist); we had a great set of boys the year we got promoted, and I speak to as many of the lads as I can.

"I'm sure one day I'll come back up for a game. The chairman, Ross McArthur, dropped me a message when we won the play-offs to say well done, which was really nice.

"There are a lot of good people there but now my focus is on Harrogate Town."

Combining playing – although a groin problem has kept him out of action since that match-up with Fylde – and coaching is certainly enough to keep Falkingham occupied but is he thinking about the possibility of successive promotions?

"The gaffer has put together a young, enthusiastic side," he continued.

"They've grown in momentum and confidence, and we had a fantastic season last year.

"We are a small club compared to the big-hitters like Salford, who I'm sure people in Scotland will be aware of, and know the kind of money they're throwing about.

"There's teams like Chesterfield and Leyton Orient, big former Football League clubs, who we're coming up against but the gaffer has brought in the right types and good characters.

"We rode a wave last year and we've carried that on. The way we're playing, and because we're winning, games can't come quickly enough."

One of those comes at the end of September – when Falkingham hopes to be back in action – when Harrogate travel to Boreham Wood's Meadow Park.

He said he would be keeping a close on the result, which saw the Pars make it through on penalties after a 0-0 draw, and, when asked about comparisons between the standard of their respective leagues, he added: "What I would say is that it's a very competitive league we're in.

"There's a lot of physicality and I can imagine Boreham Wood being a strong side. It (the National League) is different in terms of its competitiveness; the amount of games is relentless. I think I played 52 games last season.

"It'll be interesting – and I might be on the phone to you in a couple of weeks asking what they were like!"