COMMENT: No time to lose for new Shaymen manager Lakeland

The former King’s Lynn, Farsley Celtic and Curzon Ashton boss has been chosen as Chris Millington’s successor, and is tasked with building on Millington's record of two play-off finishes and an FA Trophy win.

Lakeland’s track record in the game, where he has been won silverware with several different clubs further down the pyramid as either manager or first-team coach, suggests he has what it takes.

Plus having ex-Town man Sam Walker alongside him as assistant should help Lakeland become attuned to the club and its particular challenges, but achieving success with Town could be his biggest challenge yet.

There are echoes of when Pete Wild was appointed back in 2019, taking over from Jamie Fullarton.

Town are in a stronger position than they were back then, having achieved back-to-back top seven placings in the last two seasons, but that doesn’t mean Lakeland can take things easy.

Wild took over on July 24, 2019 with a half-built squad and took charge of his first game, a friendly at Oldham, just six days later and oversaw the start of the league season on August 3 that year, just a week and a half after his appointment.

Lakeland’s schedule isn’t quite that condensed, but he’s still very much playing catch-up with the rest of the league, and with a smaller budget than most.

Halifax have just 13 contracted players at the moment, so will arguably need around another eight to ten additions for their squad to feel complete.

And there’s no time to lose, with their first pre-season friendly taking place at Bradford Park Avenue in just three weeks, and the National League season starting on August 9.

That doesn’t give too much time for a new-look squad to gel or for Lakeland to get his ideas across. Not that Wild found that too problematic, as Town won seven of their first nine league games under him.

But that’s just on the field. Off it, there is the club’s backroom team to consider, including physio Aaron Scholes, goalkeeping coach Paul Oakes, sports scientist Jack Drewery and other members of the analysis and sports science departments who have been used under Millington.

Any turnover of staff behind-the-scenes isn’t going to leave long for new people to bed in either.

All in all, it promises to be a hectic eight weeks until the Adam Lakeland era begins in earnest.