‘I expect them to perform well’ says assistant boss
ASSISTANT MANAGER Chris Milington says he expects Halifax to perform well in their National League play-off eliminator at Boreham Wood.
A place at Harrogate in the semi-final is at stake for Town, in what is arguably their biggest game since their last play-off appearance against Cambridge in 2014.
“I’m confident that we’re in a position to be able to put in a performance that warrants progressing,” said Millington.
“I think the lads are in a state where I expect them to perform well, I expect them to go out and have good moments of possession, I expect them to be really resilient and dogged out of possession, I expect them to be effective when we have the ball.
“I’m excited, I’m looking forward to seeing the lads perform.
“It’ll be a tough game, not only are they a good side, very well organised - the way they play, they do it well - but also there’s the added challenge of it being such an important, oneoff game.
“It’ll be difficult, they’ll make it hard for us and we’ll look to do the same for them.”
When asked what he wants to see from the team at Boreham Wood, Millington said: “I want to see them give it their best shot. That’s something we can take for granted but there are so many things around the occasion, pressure on the game because it’s a one-off, we’re away from home, there’ll be lots of different things they have to take into consideration, which they won’t have had to think about in the past - the way the changing facilities are setup, the fact there’s no crowd things that take their attention that wouldn’t normally.
“The real wish for them is they give it everything they’ve got in the game and allow themselves to just focus and attend to the really important stuff, which is what goes on on the pitch, and meet their full potential.
“I’m always keen to see a good performance and I’m keen to see the lads implement what we do in training and perform the way we ask them to. It’s about the mentality, having a real focus on what it is we’re trying to do, understanding the management of the game, making sure they understand what the objectives are in the different times of the game, depending on the scoreline, and being able to work as an effective unit from one to 11.
“The team that has the greater cohesion, I would expect to do better.”
Millington admits there will be nerves among the squad, but is happy with how the players are shaping up.
“I’d be worried if they didn’t experience some butterflies on the day. I would find that a bit confusing because it’s such a big occasion,” he said.
“But they’re in great shape, they all seem really happy to be back, they’re training with a freedom, enjoyment and enthusiasm, and it’s a real happy camp.”
Millington says no stone has been left unturned in planning for the game.
“We’ve been as thorough as we can in our preparation, what we’re trying to do is work with the lads around game management, making sure they’re prepared for every eventuality, and they’ve got a clear objective.
“So if we’re one-up, two-up, what are we trying to achieve, how are we looking to manage the game? If we’re behind and we need to pull it back, how do we approach that situation?
“We’re trying to make sure we’ve got a thorough approach and the lads understand that.”
If Town win, it would be the first of potentially three huge games in the space of 17 days, with a trip to Harrogate and, victory there permitting, Wembley to follow.
“We’ve thought of the process, the way it plays out, and in terms of a training programme we’ve got that in place,” Millington said.
“How we manage the physical load, how we manage the tactical approach of that training programme.
“But Boreham Wood is our sole objective, and we’ll see where that leads us.”
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