"There's always a purpose behind everything we do" - Behind-the-scenes with The Shaymen as they prepare for the FA Trophy final

Ahead of FC Halifax Town’s visit to Wembley on Sunday in the FA Trophy final, the Halifax Courier’s Town reporter Tom Scargill was granted special behind-the-scenes access to how The Shaymen are preparing for the big game.
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It's 7.30am, and Town boss Chris Millington has another long day ahead of him.

As Halifax manager, Millington holds the key to the club's future. Literally, as he's unlocking the gate to the training ground car park.

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"Aaron Scholes (physio) is usually the first one here," he says. "I usually get here between seven thirty and seven forty."

Town boss Chris Millington addresses some of his players during trainingTown boss Chris Millington addresses some of his players during training
Town boss Chris Millington addresses some of his players during training

His working day will end around 14 hours later.

Millington has brought analyst Dylan Mistry with him this Thursday morning, while defender Jack Senior is there waiting to make an early start.

"That's what you want to see isn't it," says Millington of Senior's early arrival to start his gym work.

First job - kettle on.

FC Halifax Town at trainingFC Halifax Town at training
FC Halifax Town at training

Assistant manager Andy Cooper arrives soon afterwards and he and Millington are quickly talking tactics. And haircuts.

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A freshly-trimmed Cooper talks Millington through his tactics board and the two set-up the day's training programme: 11 v 11's, runs, five-a-sides.

Physio Scholes is then consulted on how long the sessions can last and which players can handle what.

Every part of training is designed to the minute.

One of the whiteboards at the Town training groundOne of the whiteboards at the Town training ground
One of the whiteboards at the Town training ground

Once the final decisions are made, Cooper writes the schedule on a whiteboard for the other players to see when they arrive.

Senior, who looks set to be captaining his hometown club at Wembley, talks tactics with Millington at another whiteboard.

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There's more here than a secondary school. More counters than a game of Connect Four.

"We've usually got a loose outline of the session plan, so we'll look at bodies, who's in what parts of the session," says Millington.

Brewing up at Town trainingBrewing up at Town training
Brewing up at Town training

"Everyone should be involved today.

"We'll talk about the objectives, what we're focusing on and why."

The two arrive an hour-and-a-half before the players, and two hours before training starts.

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"This time is massively important so we can make sure the numbers are right for training," says Millington, "who'll make up the 11 v 11s, whether we'll do passing or possession drills or whatever else.

"It all takes preparation to make sure it flows, and everyone knows where they need to be and what they're doing so nobody's standing around not knowing what's happening."

In such a long daily schedule, even the commute is precious time, used wisely.

One of the whiteboards at Town's training groundOne of the whiteboards at Town's training ground
One of the whiteboards at Town's training ground

"That's valuable," says Millington, "weighing up the plan for the day on the way in and then reflecting on the way back, mulling over what we've done.

"That's really useful time."

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Is there ever a chance for a natter about last night's telly over the morning brews?

"That's Pogsy's job," Millington says. "Pop culture, all the latest goings on, gossip. That's Paul Oakes' department."

Mistry is consulted on Gateshead, with training centered around how The Heed will set up and how Town can combat them.

Goalkeeping coach Oakes is next to arrive. Plans are well underway for the pre-Wembley quiz.

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Senior's music choice goes down well as the soundtrack to the morning. Millington whistles along to the Four Tops, Bryan Adams and Don McLean.

There's an air of joviality, but discussions always return to the serious stuff sooner or later.

Training has a purpose. The end goal is always in sight.

Every player's arrival, usually a 'car school' with two or three players to each car, is greeted enthusiastically with a handshake and a smile.

It's a busy environment, all hustle and bustle, the sound of laughter and chatter competing with the music, the morning rituals of how-are-you's and did-you-see-the-game's.

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Training starts at 9.30am but the players have begun their day's work before then.

Pre-training gym work starts at 9am but by ten to nine, all the players down to do it are well into their routines: medicine balls, weights, exercise bikes, press ups, chin ups, all to improve strength, balance and fitness.

"They are young men but what they do day in, day out and the sacrifices they make to go out and perform for the club, it really is quite humbling at times," Millington says.

"They'll drive us mad and frustrate us on occasions but for the most part, you can't help but respect the way they go about their work and the way they want to serve the club and their team-mates to try and achieve something."

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Some players do gym work before training and some after due to lack of space.

"It's all programmed by Az," says Cooper, "so they all have an individual programme that's put on the board for them to follow, which they also do at home, and it'll be tailored to what they need."

After heading out into the drizzle to set-up cones, mannequins and mark out the pitches, there's time for a second cuppa before 9am.

"We do get through a lot," says Millington, who's also had his morning porridge.

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Gateshead and Wembley run through training like the words in a stick of rock. The end goal is always in sight.

"There's always a purpose behind everything we do," says Millington.

"Seventy-five per cent of it is geared towards the upcoming opposition, but then there's around 25 per cent of what we do geared towards a different objective around lightening the mood or taking some of the cognitive load off the lads, so we're not just battering them with information all the time.

"There is always a reason behind what we do and how it's done.

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"The majority of the time it's around preparing for a game or trying to implement a certain style we want.

"Since I've been at the club we've always wanted to be considered a possession-based team, but we've also always wanted to be pragmatic within that and realise that we can't always approach games like Man City with the intention of dominating possession for 90 minutes-plus.

"We want to be possession-based but we recognise there are times when we need to play longer and work the ball into the opposition half sooner.

"Out of possession we want to be aggressive in our press from an organised shape, and sometimes that'll be a block.

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"We want to be able to press and unsettle teams at the earliest opportunity.

"We want to be energetic, we want to be well-organised and disciplined in what we do."

In the staff office - one desk, two laptops and five chairs - all manner of subjects drop onto Millington's to-do list: kits, re-ordering equipment, replenishing the sugar bowl for the coffees, emails, tactics, paperwork, air dropping documents and battling an infuriatingly slow wi-fi to download an analysis video.

And that's before training begins.

"Let's get this road on the show," exclaims Millington and it's everybody out into the drizzle.

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After some informal passing to loosen up, Millington blows his whistle at 9.29am and the squad gathers round him to hear the morning's schedule, what they'll be doing and why. The end goal is always in sight.

After some running, at 9.40am, it's some games of rondo - basically piggy-in-the-middle - referred to as boxes, with two players in the middle of a circle of team-mates, trying to intercept the ball, with the worst performer in turn being voted into the middle.

The players then split into two groups - one overseen by Millington and the other by Cooper - at 9.49am for some possession work and tactical work.

Drills are repeated at least eight to ten times and when it's not quite right, it's stopped and started again.

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Players aren't just told what to do, they're asked what they should do so it's understood.

The focus is on moving the ball upfield quickly and smoothly, with purpose and tempo.

It's focused, detailed and all done for a reason. The end goal is always in sight.

The players are engaged, focused and eager to learn.

Rebuttals are delivered for any players half-a-yard off it. Intensity and precision are demanded.

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"Being on the grass is probably the best part of it," says Cooper.

"The more you progress as a coach," says Millington, "the less time you spend doing what got you into the job in the first place.

"But the nice thing is the further you progress, the more say you get over what gets delivered."

"It's match-realistic, related to the game and how we want to play," says Cooper.

"It's structured for what's coming further along as well.

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"So we're structured in how we prepare so we can deliver physically but also to implement how we want to play."

Down to the minute.

"That's mainly due to the fact that we train once a day," says Cooper, "in a short window and we normally have a lot of games so you need to factor in rest and recovery ad peaking at the right time, trying not to overload the players.

"We don't want long periods of gaps between sessions, everything should seamlessly link from the small periods of possession at the start, which is a bit of fun, to the passing and pressing, the 11 v 11 and the tactical work.

"We don't want many stoppages, just quick drinks in-between and go again.

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"We train shorter and sharper rather than having them all day, going off and then coming back on.

"We're higher intensity but for shorter periods."

And everything has a purpose.

"We started to drip things in at the start of the week but without the word Gateshead being mentioned to the players," Cooper says.

"There were elements we wanted to do that we put into training without heavily discussing it with the players.

"But then as the week's gone on, the percentages change a bit, so this is probably the most tactical day we've had so far, working against how we think they'll set-up.

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"But we still haven't shown them any videos, we're just dripping the ideas in and then it'll start again next week where the scales will tilt towards heavy prep, more tactical and less physical."

Matty Warburton, a former teacher, is a prominent on-pitch voice.

Max Wright, Jesse Debrah and Jamie Stott are all good communicators, although most players are constantly talking each other through the drills. Cajoling, encouraging, praising.

Millington isn't a sergeant major authoritarian. But when he speaks, the players listen.

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His analysis is instant and sharp. Anything amiss is immediately identified and rectified.

By 11am, Millington is prowling the touchline during an 11 v 11 game, picking up on imperfections, coaching minute-by-minute, ironing out the wrinkles.

Ten minutes later, after a brief debrief, the session ends. A good morning's work.

Most players stay out to do extra bits of ball work, passing or finishing, and there is the odd chat between Millington and some players, a quick word here or there.

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It's then back to the office for a chat about how it all went. And another brew.

There's more admin to see to, more issues to attend to, more planning to be done.

Attention turns to tomorrow and Saturday's sessions over a desk lunch.

Rob Harker's now in charge of the post-training gym music. Less 80s and 90s pop, more dance and hip-hop. Not quite Millington's cup of tea, or coffee.

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The staff are clearly a tight-knit group who get along well, know each other well and trust each other.

Millington, Cooper, Oakes, Scholes, Mistry, first-team coach Joe Sargison, sports scientist and kit man Jack Drewery and strength and conditioning coach Calum McLeod are the eight table legs, all supporting and bearing some of the load. Without any one of them, it wouldn't really work.

"To have that balance and stability, everybody's got to be contributing," says Millington.

"Often the final decisions are down to me, whether I make them or delegate them to someone else, it's on me.

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"But I'd hope that all the staff feel their contribution is necessary because it is.

"Every aspect, whether it's the analyst or whether it's Jack, who dual roles, but his input from a sports science perspective is vital, and Calum doing the strength and conditioning, Aaron Scholes, who's been at the club a number of years, has a huge input into what goes on.

"And then as a management team, me, Coops, the first-team coach and Pogsy have a real input into the preparation of the lads.

"But every aspect of the preparation is crucial.

"So many teams in the National League now are so well prepared that you can't afford for one of those table legs to be missing."

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Just as everyone said good morning around two-and-a-half hours ago, they now say goodbye, all making an effort to come into the office to bid farewell to the staff.

At 12.25pm, Millington and Cooper head off to The Shay for a meeting with a potential new signing, with Jamie Cooke still working in the gym.

"Always the last one here," says Cooper.

An hour later, the pair arrive at The Shay for a meeting that lasts around 75 minutes.

After that? Another brew.

"It is a really, really enjoyable job, coaching and managing," Millington says.

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"One, I think the club's got so much potential. Yes we have our limitations in terms of resources, but we don't believe that's a barrier to success, we think we can still be successful.

"And it's even more exciting trying to find the solutions and help the club get to where we believe it deserves to be, regardless of what constraints we might have to work with.

"Second, there's nothing more rewarding than working with an honest, hard-working group of young men who are desperate to get better and want to fulfil their potential, and not only progress the standard of play for Halifax Town but also for their own careers.

"And thirdly, the likes of Andy Cooper and the other staff are great people to work with."

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Enjoyable? Yes, Millington clearly loves his job. Demanding? Absolutely, there's always something else to do, another issue to resolve, the next session to plan.

"It's something you can only really understand when you're in it," Millington reflects.

"For any staff member involved in the preparation and management of first-team footballers, it's all-consuming.

"You're constantly thinking about how to best prepare and coach individuals, the units within the team, the wider team, the players who maybe aren't making regular appearances but still need to be on a pathway to getting better.

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"Then over and above that, you're taking into consideration upcoming oppositions and then you're looking at periods within seasons that you've got to prepare for.

"Then beyond that, we're always trying to look a season or two down the line to try and prepare the squad for when key players might move on and trying to make sure we give ourselves a chance to have a group of players who are progressing and developing and ready to step in when players move on.

"There's not a minute goes by really when you've not got something even wondering through the back of your mind that you might need to pay some attention to, so it is completely all-consuming.

"And that's not just for me, I'm sure Coops would say the same and the other staff members are constantly thinking about what needs attending to and what we can try to do better.

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"It's constantly whirring around in your head, the opposition, what will they do when they drop off, how will they press, how will they play with the ball.

"What information do we need to get over to which individuals and how do we best go about that, do we do it explicitly with a big presentation or more subtly with a little chat.

"There's so many aspects to weigh up, it takes up all your thinking time to the point where me and Coops will be sat at home listening to our missus' talk but actually thinking about what Gateshead's wing-back's going to try and do to get balls into the box!"

Despite the demands, and despite some very low points this season, Millington has never lost his enthusiasm to be there the next morning, bright and early.

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"No, never," he says. "After the Maidenhead game at home, I was acutely aware for how it might feel for the staff.

"But I've never not wanted to come in."

The working day can often stretch on to 10pm with preparation for the next day, calls or Zoom meetings.

"A lot of work goes on between eight and ten at night," says Cooper.

"That's often when you find out who may or may not be taking part in training the next day so then you need to make changes.

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"Fidel (O'Rourke) wasn't well the other day so that has knock-on effects to the following day's training if he's missing.

"That gets dealt with in the morning but the initial part of it is in the evening."

"I've got about 800 messages I need to reply to," says Millington, "I've got a load of emails, I've got a few missed calls.

"Driving home it'll be a case of returning missed calls, thank god for bluetooth! Then going through emails when I get home.

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"There's certain stuff around recruitment for next season I need to pay some attention to.

"Then there'll be a break of a couple of hours where I'll go and kick a ball about with my own kids.

"And then when they've gone to bed, start looking at some of the footage we'll use tomorrow."

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