Former Halifax Town player and manager Alan Little dies aged 69

A no-nonsense, uncompromising midfielder – he was described by some former team mates as the hardest player they ever played with – Little was born in Horden in May 1955 and had gained Durham County honours when he followed brother Brian to Aston Villa, signing apprentice forms before turning professional in January 1973.

The two brothers both appeared for Villa when the side defeated Liverpool to win the FA Youth Cup in 1972, but while Brian, two years his senior, went on to have an illustrious career at Villa and win two England caps, Alan mustered just three League appearances with the club.

He moved to Third Division Southend United in December 1974 and became a regular in the side, though relegation in 1975-76 was tempered only by a magnificent FA Cup run when the Shrimpers reached the fifth round before bowing out to reigning League champions Derby County.

Little enjoyed success, however, at Barnsley in 1978-79 under Allan Clarke, making forty League appearances and scoring seven goals in their Fourth Division promotion campaign.

After making 91 League appearances (fourteen goals) for the club, Little moved to Doncaster Rovers for a then club record £25,000 and in 1980-81 featured in their Fourth Division promotion success under Billy Bremner.

In 1981-82, Little was named Rovers’ Player of the Year award before moving to Torquay United in October 1982 in a deal which saw Clive Wigginton move in the opposite direction and was made captain.

It was from there that he joined Halifax Town in November 1983, signed by Mickey Bullock on a free transfer after the Gulls had fended off Town’s approach the previous summer.

He was made skipper here, too but Little’s two seasons with the Shaymen coincided with the club having to apply for re-election.

He made 68 League appearances and scored six goals, but nevertheless, he gave his all to the cause, once famously taking over in goal from injured Paddy Roche in a match at Darlington in March 1985, where Town lost 2-0 and ended with eight players on the field, though Little himself kept a clean sheet.

Little joined Hartlepool United in July 1985 for one last season before retiring and moving into coaching under manager John Bird.

When Bird was appointed York City manager in October 1988, Little went with him as his assistant, later serving under John Ward.

When Ward left to take over at Bristol Rovers in March 1993, Little succeeded him as manager and immediately guided York to promotion via the play-offs.

The following season, York almost repeated the feat, but were beaten in the Division Two play-off semi-finals by Stockport County.

But Little did go on to deliver unforgettable aggregate victory over Manchester United in the 1995-96 League Cup, and against Everton the following season.

However, York were battling against relegation in March 1999 when Little was sacked.

The following month, however, Little returned to manage his former club Southend United in succession to Alvin Martin and helped them avoid the drop into the Conference.

A serious financial crisis saw Little slash the wage bill, yet having recovered from a poor start at the beginning of the 2000-01 season and seen his side rise to tenth in Division Three,

Little was sacked towards the end of September.

Alan Little was scouting for his brother Brian when he answered Halifax Town chairman Bob Walker’s call on 13 October 2001, faced with the difficult task of keeping the club in the League, but his managerial rein was an unhappy one.

The one bright spot was the signing of combative midfielder Steve Bushell, but results failed to improve, and his rein came to an abrupt halted when he was forced into hospital in March 2001 with a ruptured appendix.

Little recuperated at home but remained as Halifax Town manager in name only while caretaker Neil Redfearn oversaw first team affairs until officially being dismissed on 12 April 2002 with relegation to the Conference having already been confirmed.

Once recovered, Little took up employment in Lincoln as a front-line manager for a parcel delivery firm. He was last at The Shay in September 2021 for a club reunion when he was in good spirits and engaging company.