"Hopefully we're going to have a team that Halifax can be proud of," says Town's assistant manager Pablo Mills

Town's assistant manager followed McGrath from previous club Buxton, who the duo helped to play-off finishes in both of the last two seasons.

He and McGrath's paths first crossed on the pitch as players, with Mills playing for the likes of Derby County, Rotherham United and Crawley, before McGrath signed Mills for Mickleover Sports in 2016 when he was player-manager there.

Mills, 42, was first-team coach while former Bradford and Doncaster midfielder Ricky Ravenhill was McGrath's assistant, but stepped up to be his number two when the pair moved to Buxton.

Mills says a conversation with his former manager at Bury, David Flitcroft, towards the end of his playing career was what pushed him into coaching.

"I was a good communicator with the young lads on the pitch - I've always been a good communicator on the pitch - and the gaffer asked me if I was interested in coaching," Mills said.

"I didn't really give it a thought back then but that kind of stuck with me and I just got into it, because it was something I naturally did on the pitch anyway.

"It was something I slipped into seamlessly and I've enjoyed it ever since."

Mills says he has taken bits of inspiration from each of the managers he played under.

"I'm very disciplined in what I do, I ask a lot of players, I believe in exhausting every ounce of resources they've got," he said.

"We both (him and McGrath) have the same philosophy in terms of playing style, I was a ball-playing defender myself so I like players to express themselves on the ball.

"I think I'm good with young players and getting information across, and being pretty clear on things.

"I expect the highest of standards from the players on the pitch and off it and I just believe in lads being very good professionals and taking their jobs seriously."

When asked what he feels make a good assistant manager, Mills said: "It helps when you've got a rapport with the manager and you both know each other, you know what you both bring to the table.

"It's your difference of ideas really, I don't think Mac would want somebody who's just going to agree with everything he says. I challenge him a lot, challenge his thought-process, as he does mine.

"And in the middle of it, we always come to an agreement and it always seems to be the right decision.

"He's the manager so he's going to have the final say, but he's been great with me, he takes my advice and my words on board and we both apply it."

Mills says McGrath is a manager with self-belief and a clear idea of what he wants from his team.

"He's very progressive, he believes in himself, believes in his playing style, he has an idea of how he wants his team to look, which is controlling possession, controlling the game while being front-foot, pressing," said Mills.

"He's very relaxed, which is why we balance each other, because I tend to be the one that's a bit harder on the players, whereas he's a bit more relaxed.

"He can be a bit harder on the players but we have that nice balance.

"And he's very good with young players. He brings a whole football club together, he's great at speakijng to people, connecting the youth lads to the first-team and pushing young players through, he's done that throughout his tenure in managing.

"I really enjoy working with Mac and I'm looking forward to continuing our journey."

Mills, who holds a UEFA B Licence but is planning on working towards an A Licence, says the duo want to produce a Town team that excites the fans.

"First and foremost, me and Mac are both winners, we like to win games of football," he said.

"You can expect a possession-based team that is front-foot, attacking and pressing, fast counter-attacks and hopefully we're going to have a team that Halifax can be proud of and we can push on this year."