"There's a lot more room for growth within this squad," says Millington ahead of Boxing Day clash at Altrincham

The Shaymen go into the game having won 4-3 at Aldershot and drawn 1-1 at Barnet in their last two matches, lifting them up to eighth place and only outside the top seven on goal difference.

"There's such a long way to go but I was chatting to the Barnet staff before the game, and everyone's in agreement, that this season is different from previous seasons in that it's so much tighter," Millington said.

"Even at the top, this time last year, Chesterfield were pulling away and probably 10 or 15 points clear at this stage last season.

"Whereas even the top few places are very tight, so we can't rest, we can't relax, we can't think we've cracked it just because we've got a point at Barnet.

"We've got to accept that we'll have to be in it for the long haul, but another really encouraging thing for me is we look like a team that have got more rom for growth.

"I think we're playing well, I think we're growing together but I think there's a lot more room for growth within this squad and it's exciting having Scott (High) back, having Ryan Galvin back fit, having Max Wright back fit.

"We left Owen Bray out on Saturday, purely because we needed cover for certai positions on the bench but what an excellent player to be able to bring back in.

"And also Adan George and Harvey Sutcliffe will be available in the next week, so we enter the second-half ot the season in even better shape than we entered the second-half of last season.

"If we can better what we did in the second-half of last season, then we'll finish in a really strong place."

When asked where he sees the growth in his side coming from, Millington said: "I think we can become more consistent in terms of winning duels, especially in the middle of the park, and how we tidy up when those duels occur.

"You saw on Saturday, there were lots of transitions in the middle of the pitch and I think Barnet probably came out with a slightly higher number of possessions from those moments.

"We can be better in there and then when we do, we can control possession better, but Saturday's not the best example of that because they're incredibly tight games against the very best teams in the league, so it might be a bit greedy to expect us to have large periods of possession."

Halifax are the only side in the National League to have conceded fewer than ten goals away from home this season and have won more league games away than at The Shay this season.

"Without wanting to come across like I'm point-scoring, because I'm not, but the away following on Saturday was unbelievable," Millington said when asked about Town's away record.

"They were massively outnumbered by the Barnet fans but they were so loud and they contributed to a fantastic atmosphere.

"That gets the lads up, the backing they get is phenomenal and we need to try and find a way of recreating that atmosphere at home.

"Some of it is on the players and their performance and some of it is on the fans to contribute in that way.

"But that certainly helps and the following at Altrincham will be phenomenal, it's always a cracking atmosphere on Boxing Day."

On Town's Boxing Day opponents Altrincham, who are one point and one place below Halifax in the table, Millington said: "They're not quite the same team they were a couple of seasons ago, they were massively focused on dominating possession stats.

"A couple of 16th, 17th place finishes have made them become a bit more pragmatic and they'll work a bit harder out of possession, they're a bit better structured and they carry a bit more threat on the counter-attack than they used to.

"But always a really tough game against them, the clubs are very competitive and we'll go there wanting to get one over a local rival."