"The main objective was getting minutes in the legs" - Millington praises effort and application in Halifax's friendly defeat at Fylde

Joe Rowley's second-half goal proved decisive in Millington's first Halifax game as manager.

"The main objective was getting minutes in the legs, getting some distance into the legs and getting some sprints and accelerations, and we got that for the most part," he said.

"I think the quality that Fylde have got and the stage of pre-season they're at helped, because they moved the ball well and they stretched us, so that helped us achieve that objective.

"We started off fairly brightly, then Fylde took control of possession and moved it about well.

"We were resilient in terms of our defensive structure when we dropped into our own half for the most part.

"We knew what the threats were in terms of the diag and trying to expose the wide areas on the opposite side, and they did that well, but I think that was good for us because it gave our full-backs the opportunity to defend wide areas and the centre-halves opportunities to defend balls into the box."

Millington was particularly pleased with new striker Mani Dierseruvwe's performance in attack.

"We wanted to see some elements of our identity come out and they were there in small amounts." he added.

"It particularly helped having Mani up top, who presents a problem for defences because he's got the ability to hold the ball up when it comes into him, he's a threat off the shoulder and he's decent in the air.

"So that gives us a number of ways of working the ball up the pitch, and I thought he had a really positive influence on our play.

"The rest of the lads worked hard, certainly the signed lads looked to press, looked to solve problems, looked to deal with their forward play.

"There were a number of pleasing performances but more around effort and application than actual quality on the ball."

Read more from the Town boss on the Courier website later this week and in Thursday's Halifax Courier.