IN terms of playing budget at least, it’s safe to say that FC Halifax Town are not exactly the equals of all their play-off rivals – and most definitely not their opponents on Wednesday evening.
They face an Oldham Athletic side whose resources comfortably outstrip their own, in front of a bumper five-figure Roses crowd at Boundary Park, including 1,800 Shaymen followers.
Fortunately, success does not always come down to money and finance, with the fact that Halifax have made light of a relatively modest budget in National League circles to finish in the play-off positions on four occasions in six seasons – ahead of some more extensively-backed clubs in 2024-25 for sure – being a case in point.
Not that the Shaymen are here to just admire the view, with Wednesday night’s winners due to face York City in an eliminator semi-final next Tuesday.
Town manager Chris Millington told The Yorkshire Post: “The objective is not to just make the play-offs.
“When you look at the company we are in, in terms of the other clubs, they have vastly superior budgets and probably richer recent history.
“It maybe looks like we are the ‘poor relations’ and we should just be happy to be there. But that is just not the case.
“Our performances and results against the bigger clubs, teams and budgets this season has been good and we know we can beat anyone that we come up against.
“We have worked hard to maintain a level of competitiveness against these challenges. You look at some huge clubs and very well resourced teams that aren’t anywhere near where we are.”
One thing that Halifax will be fairly happy about is the fact that they will be hitting the road in the play offs.
In the regular season, only champions Barnet and York managed more away points than Town, who collected 38 from 23 games. By comparison, their home form was the 17th best in the division.
Millington added: “Playing on a good surface makes a difference to us. We are not a team who, due to budgetary constraints, can recruit a team of 27 or 28-year-olds who are accomplished athletes and players. We go for younger lads who maybe don’t carry the same physicality, but a high level of technical ability and willingness to run.
“We will have great support and the away following this year has been phenomenal and as much as the staff and players want to take credit for the away performances, a lot of the credit also has to go to the away support.”
Oldham have beaten Halifax in the league and FA Cup on home soil already this term, but Millington insists that unforeseen circumstances did not help them ahead of either.
He continued: “It might actually work in our favour to be honest. I look at the two results they have had this season and manner of the games (at Boundary Park).
“They might have one eye on playing York City away, which would be great because in both cases, there were circumstances which were unusual which went against us. We can’t have that luck a third time in one season.”
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