The Town boss says those spoken to so far are “mainly players who we’d be considering down the spine of the team” and that discussions will be continuing this week.
“We’ve got a huge list of targets and we’ve already started conversations with a number of people about whether or not Halifax Town’s a realistic option for them, whether or not geographically it works, whether or not financially, with ballpark figures, it would work,” the Town boss told the Courier.
“Narrowing down numbers in that sense has already started and one or two meetings with individuals have already taken place and more will be taking place to discuss in more details what their wants and needs are and whether or not they match with ours.”
One striker that Town will be looking for is a replacement for Rob Harker, who left earlier this month.
“Don’t forget, we had a forward who was potentially a 20 goal a season player in Milli Alli who we let go in January,” Millington stated.
The temptation is always to search outside for this amazing striker who is eager to play for Halifax Town, but sometimes we forget to take a closer look at the ones we already have inside the building. We may very well have another one of those already.Therefore, we will act if we can locate one inside first.
“Of course, we have a long list of strikers, but the supporters must understand that every new player will lack experience.
“We ain’t going to be in a position to be able to afford a ready-made, National League 20-plus goal striker, so they’ll have to get behind whoever comes in and really encourage them and support them to become that player.”
According to Millington, Town will also be reaching out to its players who are not under contract this week to get their input.
“That’s a job for this week, the lads have had their offers a few days so we’ll start chasing up and hopefully by this time next week we’ll have a clear idea of where we stand,” he stated.
Luke Summerfield, Rob Harker, Tom Wilson, and Tom Scott were let go by the Shaymen at the beginning of the month.
All of Town’s other out-of-contract players have been extended new contracts, and the team has exercised its options regarding Ryan Galvin, Jo Cummings, Festus Arthur, Jack Evans, and Max Wright.”We’ll be ambitious and we’ll hopefully be stronger, that’s the aim,” Millington stated.
“Some of the players we currently have are aspiring to reach that level if we assume the worst, which is that we do lose some of those players who have been with us for a few seasons and have developed into excellent National League players, as well as players who we expect to see playing in the Football League at some point in their future.
Therefore, it is up to us as a staff and the players now on the team to stand up and follow in the footsteps of Milli Allis, Jesse Debrahs, and Jack Seniors.
“The players in the building have got the right environment, they’ve got the staff around them and they’ve got the opportunity to step up and become that level of player, so that’s what we’ll be working towards.”
A player who is leaving the team is Justin Iwobi, a promising striker.
Forward Iwobi has been made available for transfer, but fellow young players Jimiel Chikukwa, Frankie Sinfield, and Ted Lavelle will be included in the first-team roster for the preseason.
“We feel Frankie, Jimiel and Ted have all got an opportunity in pre-season try and establish themselves as first-team players,” Millington stated.
“They’ve all had excellent seasons in terms of their growth; it is now up to them to demonstrate whether they are truly prepared to play in the National League.
“If not, we’ll extend their loan period to allow them to grow.
We’ve had an honest conversation with Justin and will make him available for transfer because we believe that, given his development stage and the three loan experiences he’s had, it will be difficult for him to establish himself at the National League level in the near future and that his opportunities may be better elsewhere.
In order to have a squad of about 22 or 23 first-team players for the upcoming season, Millington says he hopes that about 80% of his players will be signed by the time Town returns for preseason training on July 1.
Pre-season friendly between Halifax and Hyde on Tuesday, July 9, Alvechurch on Saturday, July 20, and Ashton United on Tuesday, July 30 have already been announced. The team’s final warm-up match is scheduled for Saturday, August 3, one week before to the start of the new campaign.
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