Harry Kite on his tough times since leaving Exeter City

SINCE leaving Exeter City at the end of the 2023/24 season, things have been tough for midfielder Harry Kite.

Like his former Grecians team-mate, Alex Hartridge, Kite felt the time was right to spread his wings and take the next step in his football career away from Devon. Unfortunately for him, though, the harsh reality of football has bitten with Kite struggling to find himself a new club and when one came along, he picked up a serious injury which curtailed his hopes of getting fixed up on a permanent deal.

“I was training locally, obviously while speaking to a couple of teams, hoping to get something sorted in the not-too-distant future at the time,” Kite said. “I just backheeled the ball and as soon as I’d done it I felt my hamstring tighten up. Originally, I didn’t think it was anything too serious and then, within five minutes or so, I was walking down to the car with a bit of a wobble, hobbling along.

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“I knew then it was going be possibly a little bit more serious than I originally feared at first and I ended up getting a diagnosis on it. Probably undiagnosed me in terms of they thought it was only going to be maybe six to eight weeks. I then got a second opinion on it, they told me it was a little bit more serious than that and when I saw a specialist, he said for the longevity of your career and given how serious the injury is, he recommended me getting surgery.

“I had that at the start of October, it’s been about nine weeks this week, so I’ve got about seven weeks left. It’s gone quite fast but also, when you think about having another seven weeks left until you’re back training its tough mentally as well. But I’m progressing nicely, it’s all going well, I’ve had a check-up and he’s all happy with it and everything like that. I am keeping my head down and looking forward to trying to get it done.”

The injury means Kite has had to write off the first six months of the season, but the aim is to get back quickly and find a club in January. As he is a free agent, Kite can sign for anyone at any time and to help him get back on his feet, his former employers have gone above and beyond to welcome him back to the training ground and help him in getting his rehab done.

“It was really nice of them,” Kite said. “I keep in contact with Dan Green, who has come back to the club. He was with me when I came from 16s all the way through to being in the first team. He’s been a massive part of my career, a massive influence on the success I’ve had in my career so far.

I keep in touch with him and I congratulated him when he came back here and while we were chatting - I didn’t actually ask - he just said I’ll speak to the manager for you and I’ll let you know.

“I spoke to Gary, he was really nice said you can come and use us as much as you want as little as you want, sort of just treat it like you would last year if you were here as a contracted player, so I’ve come back and will train while I’m obviously speaking to clubs in January.

“Some teams might say come and finish your rehab off here or some teams might say have a week or two training with Exeter and we know you’re fit and then come and sign for us. So to have that option is obviously amazing and I’ve got to say a big thanks to Michael McBride because I’ve been with him.

“I know the physio room’s been a bit busy but he’s also accommodated me as well which he’s been amazing about and in terms of treating me like one of the actual players in terms of doing my rehab to the level that he’s doing other people’s rehab as well.

“Exeter will always hold a special place in my heart and I’m really thankful that they’ve been able to give me the opportunity to come back and do my rehab before I obviously start speaking to clubs and move on from there.”

Following his departure from Exeter, Kite had a trial with Rotherham United, but was not taken on by the Millers. He then joined the PFA’s programme for out of contract players designed to keep them fit until the opportunity of signing for a new club comes up.

“I was speaking to Kev McDonald about it the other day because I know he was in a similar situation with him being out of contract and I said to him if you’re in that position, I would definitely recommend it - and that would be to anyone here or in just in football in general.

“The set up is really good, it was near to St George’s Park, so I’ll go up there on a Sunday, stay over, train Monday to Thursday, everything accommodated, everything paid for, lovely facilities, they’ve got the spa and the gym and everything like that that you need there, they’ve got a pitch alongside it, which is kept in good condition, and I went up there for three weeks and we played three games in that three weeks as well.

“It was really good in terms of that and being in and around a group more than anything. When you’re at home, and obviously I was at home for a decent amount of time in the off-season myself, it was good to get back in a group with a group environment.

“To be honest, they were so popular I think they will probably end up doing more of them and rather than just having it in one place, I think they could end up having north and south groups.”

The challenge for Kite is to now get himself fit and find a club, but his experiences in the summer have made him realise it isn’t always easy. But with a good grounding as a footballer, coming through the Grecians’ Academy, a League Two promotion winner and experience at playing in League One, Kite has a decent CV.

“It’s been a new experience for me,” Kite said. “I mean, I’ve never had that because I’ve always been here in Exeter and it was a little bit different to what I’d imagined.

“It’s probably been a little bit more difficult in terms of the summer and understanding what football is in terms of one minute you think you’re going somewhere and the next day it’s off and they sign someone else.

“I’ve been close to signing for quite a few clubs over the summer but, for different reasons, it hasn’t worked out, so I have learnt to take everything with a pinch of salt and that it’s all talk.

“You need to get a contract in front of you and get something over the line to definitely get something done, so it’s been a bit of a bit of an eye-opener over the summer as I’ve not had that experience before. But I have learned a huge amount over the summer in terms of if I am in that position again to be a little bit more patient than I was.”