"Of course losing him is a blow" - Town boss Millington on Milli Alli's move to Exeter City

Alli has joined League One side Exeter City on a two-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee.

But the Halifax boss is critical of the way the deal materialised.

“Contrary to popular belief it’s interesting that Exeter is the first club that have shown serious interest in Milli, he’s been touted about quite comprehensively by the media, the rumour mill and others but this is the first club that’s shown genuine interest," Millington told the Courier.

"Of course losing him is a blow on the pitch, he'll be a miss.

"What we've got to remember is the journey he's had has been a very short one, it's only 12 months ago - it was January last year - that he actually broke into the starting 11 on a regular basis. Prior to that he struggled with the jump in level and was far from the fans favourite he ultimately became.

“He’s given us 12 months of good form and some fantastic goals but the manner in which this has been handled by Milli and his team left us with little choice but to facilitate the move.

“Now we'll focus all our attention on the quality we've got within the squad and we'll look to continue to bring in players who want to help us progress."

Millington added: "We found out through other channels that Milli had already expressed a desire to join Exeter before we had even had any contact from them.

"That was incredibly disappointing given the way he has been supported by staff and team mates during his time with FC Halifax Town.

"We expect better, we have higher expectations of the players in that respect."

It's not the first time Halifax have lost a star player to a higher division side in recent seasons, but losing their top-scorer midway through the campaign is a bitter blow.

When asked how frustrating it was to lose Alli, Millington said: "It's not frustrating that it happens, the way in which it happens can be frustrating.

"The behaviour of people involved in it can be very frustrating but we're a club who promise a platform to players and when they come and they're successful, we know at some point they're going to move on.

"But what we hope and expect is that the players and the people involved behave the same way that the likes of Jesse Debrah did, the likes of Jack Senior, Kieran Green, Jay Benn and other players who've moved on smoothly from Halifax Town. We hope they treat us with the respect that the club, staff, team mates and fans deserve.

"That's our main hope, that the lads who we invest in treat us with the same kind of respect."

On whether Town would be be looking for a replacement, Millington said: "With the right player. We're not going to be going out and signing Nicke Kabamba from Barnet, Josh Kelly from Solihull or James Norwood from Oldham, we'll probably be signing a player in a similar position to Milli Alli when he came into the club, a player who needs somewhere where he's going to get coaching, get patience, is going to be given an opportunity and given the platform to flourish."