"I'd like to think we'll keep hold of the majority of the players," says Town boss Millington

Chris Millington says he hopes to keep hold of the majority of his squad as talks continue with his players.

Town bowed out of the play-offs on Wednesday last week, losing 4-2 at Solihull Moors, and since then Millington has met with chairman David Bosomworth and held discussions with players about their futures.

"I guess at the moment I'm just getting on with it, we've got an awful lot of loose ends to tie up from the end of the season," Millington told the Courier when asked about his future.

"People need operations, people need to know where they're at contract-wise, we've got to put together offers for people out-of-contract.

"So my main focus really is just making sure we tie up all the bits that need tying up to finish off the season administratively and as efficiently as we can."

Millington and assistant manager Andy Cooper met with Town chairman David Bosomworth at the back end of last week to discuss what happens next with the current squad.

"I gave my opinions on who I think the club should look to retain," Millington said, "and we're just in the process of sitting down with the players on an individual basis to thank them for their efforts this season firstly, and secondly to tell them what we expect the club to do over the next few days in regard to their contract situation and then let them know about what the dates will be for them getting back in for pre-season."

Millington says he still needs a break before properly turning his attention to next season.

"I definitely need a holiday, that hasn't changed," he said.

"I've got to get some rest, otherwise I won't be in any position to get going again, as and when needed.

"But the focus at the moment is just making sure all the loose ends from this season are tied off and the lads who need taking care of are taken care of."

When asked how many of the current Halifax squad he expects to lose, Millington said: "My desire is to retain as many as we possibly can, because I think the group is just getting going.

"Certainly there's a lot of lads who've just finished their first season with the club, who now have got some experience at the level and have an understanding of what they need to do and how to play to their full capacity for a National League season.

"So we're at the beginning of something with this group of players.

"Obviously there'll be some lads out-of-contract who we'd like to keep but realistically, we'll be up against it in trying to do so.

"And then there's some who I know we'd like to keep in an ideal world but I also know that, from their personal perspective or from the perspective of their longer-term careers, might need to go elsewhere to fulfill their potential, to get the minutes they need to get to get where they could potentially get to in career terms.

"So I'd like to think we'll keep hold of the majority of the players, we'll lose some who are out-of-contract and there are one or two others who need to go to pastures new potentially, to really kick start their career."

Reflecting on the season just gone, the Town manager said: "Satisfied with the vast majority of it.

"The way we approached the first-half of the season and we developed that reputation for being incredibly difficult to play against, well organised, hard working is a real badge of honour.

"That's something everybody in the league said about the team.

"Then we changed it, we went after being more creative and scoring more goals, which was always going to be the plan at some stage.

"And I think we started to show a different side to the group that highlighted what good footballers we've got and how we can adapt, which again is an incredibly undervalued skill in National League football.

"We hear an awful lot from opposition managers about how they've got a style and a way, which is all well and good, but being adaptable and being able to implement a number of different styles is a much greater skill, and this group have shown they've got that ability.

"Then as results go, you look across the season, there have been some fantastic ones.

"Sometimes we dropped some unneccesary points, but all in all, I think everyone's got to be satisfied that we got to the point we did, even in the face of all the adversity."

Town's conquerors Solihull will face Bromley in the play-off final having won their semi-final 4-0 at Barnet on Saturday.

"I think the Solihull game was a unique one," said Millington, "I think the previous week's work had caught up with us and the first-half, we struggled to get started.

"Even when we did get started and we had our moments of dominance in the game, to those who watch us regularly, you could see we were just lacking that little bit when we needed to be able to acceelrate out of a situation, when we needed to be able to knit three or four sharp passes together to get control or break down the opposition, we just didn't have that in the legs.

"As incredible as the effort was to get through that busy week, I think it did catch up with us in the Solihull game."

Despite another season where he faced strong criticism at times from some Town fans, Millington can reflect on an FA Trophy win at Wembley and a top seven finish so far as manager.

On his own contract situation, the Halifax boss said: "As it stands, I signed a one-year deal when I first took over from Pete and since then, there's been no further discussions on the matter."

When asked if he wanted to stay on, Millington said: "Who wouldn't want to work with this group of players?

"That's what I've got to say. As I've said before, none of us are perfect, but this group of players is a fantastic group of young men who I really enjoy working with and seeing develop and get better.

"And I think there's a massive amount of potential in the group.

"It's clearly a really challenging role, managing Halifax, because of the constraints off the pitch and the things we're up against.

"You see lots and lots of clubs coming into the division and those already established in the division who are moving forward in many respects, other than just on the grass, and that's where we maybe have to fight against the odds.

"But ultimately, it comes down to who you work with on a day-to-day basis and I couldn't ask for a more honest, committed group of players."

Read more from the Town manager in the second part of his interview with the Halifax Courier on our website tomorrow.