MILLINGTON WANTS TO RETAIN TROPHY
Chris Millington wants his FC Halifax Town side to use last season's FA Trophy triumph as motivation to try and win it again.
The Shaymen lifted the trophy for only the second time in their history by beating Gateshead at Wembley in May, seven years after the first success in the competition.
And they start their defence of the FA Trophy on Saturday at home to Altrincham, who they beat in an unforgettable semi-final to reach
Wembley last term, knocking The Robins out on penalties after Milli Alli's last-gasp equaliser.
"It brings it all back, that wonderful day at Moss Lane where it all became very real, the prospect of having the chance to go and win a national competition at Wembley," Millington told the Courier. "It brings those memories flooding back and they serve as a great motivation and a great reminder that we want to try and do it all over again.
"It'll be a very tough test. I think Alty were six points ahead of us in the league going into that tie, and they were favourites to progress, and when we finished the season we were in the top-half of the table and FA Trophy winners and they were in the bottom half. So we won't get to distracted by who’s favourite at this stage.
"I remember a number of the pundits pegged them as the favourites and will do again because they're above us in the league, they've got a game in hand and they're a very different club to the one we played 12 months ago with what's gone on there, the huge investment, recruiting EFL players, paying fees for players, not to mention the increased spending on infrastructure.
"So everyone will peg Alty as the favourites and they'll be looking at this as a very real possibility of earning some silverware, along with the heightened pressure they've got now to be fighting for promotion.
"So we go into it, I'm sure, as the underdogs from the view of people on the outside but from the inside we feel we've got everything we need to go and win the game."
When asked if he thought winning the competition makes Town more or less motivated to win it again, Millington said: "More really. I can only speak for myself and the staff I've spoken to on this but we want to go down as the team who defended the FA Trophy."