Consistency and continuity have been fundamental to FC Halifax Town finishing in the play-offs four times in the last six seasons.
Since 2019, Town have had just two managers and only three different people as either manager or assistant, very much against the grain of modern day football.
Throughout those six years, Chris Millington was a constant figure in the dugout.
It now falls to Adam Lakeland, and his assistant Sam Walker, a former Halifax player, to pick up the baton and ensure The Shaymen stay among the National League’s pacesetters.
Millington had his critics, who disliked the style of play and lack of goals under his watch, but the end results were undeniably impressive.
Yes, Town bowed out at the first hurdle in the play-offs on all four occasions while Millington was at the club, but getting there in the first place was a magnificent achievement each time, considering the comparitive paucity of money and resources at his disposal.
Which is where things like continuity and consistency came in, be it in the club’s approach to recruitment, tactics, training or preparation.
Lakeland is well aware of this, highlighting the need for as much of it as possible in his first interview after taking charge.
There always seemed to be a calmness about on-the-pitch matters over the last few years, even if, like a swan, things were a bit flappier under the surface.
Millington, like Pete Wild before him, knew the club’s limitations, but did everything possible to offset that by planning for the next player to come off the conveyorbelt, inserting options into certain players’ contracts or targeting signings that would offer resale value, all to keep the club’s operating model running smoothly.
Alongside that, they managed to build teams capable of competing for promotion, despite facing what was usually a hugely disruptive annual summer rebuild.
Alongside that, they managed to build teams capable of competing for promotion, despite facing what was usually a hugely disruptive annual summer rebuild.
If Lakeland is daunted by the prospect of juggling both of those scorching hot potatoes, he hasn’t shown it so far, but it’ll be no easy task.
Wild came into the club needing to pick it up off the floor following Jamie Fullarton’s departure, leaving a husk of a squad and arriving shortly before the 2019-20 season started.
Expectations had risen dramatically by the time Millington took over, but after a brutally tough start, he and Andy Cooper eventually picked up where Wild left off, and ended up making it a tough call to pick who did the better job.
Those expectations remain as Lakeland steps into the hotseat.
Most Town fans would probably be fair-minded enough to accept some initial bumps in the road, as there were in the transition from Wild to Millington.
For some, anything less than a play-off place might be seen as a step backwards, given how regularly it has occured.
For others, not finishing in the top seven would be understandable, given how difficult and against-the-odds it is for Halifax to accomplish in such a competitive league, never mind in a time of transition.
It would be enough of a challenge with the same squad as last season, but Lakeland inherited just 13 senior players, becoming instantly initiated to the realities of life at The Shay.
That has been augmented by some promising looking additions, but it remains to be seen how quickly the club adjusts to a new squad, a new management team and a new pitch.
Town’s foundation of consistency and continuity is in flux.
It’s up to Lakeland to pick up the pieces and rebuild.
Leave a Reply