Millington says only "very strong" offers will tempt Town into parting with star players

Midfielder Kane Thompson-Sommers has been the subject of speculation linking him to a move away from Halifax.

But Millington says it would take a significant offer for them to lose any of their prized assets.

"There has been a bit of rumour and a bit of interest expressed in Kane Thompson-Sommers, but he's got another year and an option attached to him, so I think it would take a really significant offer to make that worth our while," the Town boss told the Courier.

"We believe we've only just started with Kane, and Flo Hoti is similar, there's so much more to come out of Flo.

"If we can get a consistent season from those two then we're hoping they'll help fire us to promotion.

"We've got a lot of players who've had decent first seasons with us - Ryan Galvin, Jack Evans, it was Adam Senior's first full season with us, Max Wright's first full season with us and first full season pretty much injury free.

"There are players who will attract the attention of clubs with stronger finances but they'll have to be very strong offers to make it worth our while because ultimately, we want to be successful in our own right and these are the lads we've selected to help us do that."

Millington says he anticipates having a squad of 24 or 25 players next season.

"That includes Frankie Sinfield, Ted Lavelle and Jimiel Chikukwa, who are all there to try and stake a claim for a first-team spot," Millington said.

"Whether they'll all be in place by the first day of pre-season, I'm not sure, but like I've mentioned previously, I'd hope that 90 per cent of the squad should be in place by then."

It remains to be seen whether that squad will include attacker Jamie Cooke.

"We've put what we believe was a very strong offer out for Halifax Town engaging with a player of Cookie's age," Millington said.

"Nothing's agreed as yet but hopefully it'll be put to bed one way or another in the next seven days."

Defender Jordan Keane's future also remains unresolved.

"We made an offer to Keano, who's got strong interest from other clubs as well so he's in the process of making a decision at the moment," Millington said.

Winger Angelo Cappello will be at Town next season having signed a new two-year contract.

"Angelo's a pleasure to work with, a good, honest lad," said Millington.

"That honest, industrious attitude, added in with that bit of flair and creativity that the fans see in him on a match day, that's what you get from him day in, day out.

"We all really enjoy working with him, and we believe it was a bit of a stop-start season for him so we want to make sure that this coming season is one where he really racks up the appearances and starts to make people understand what an important player he can be."

Town were unable to hold onto centre-back Jamie Stott though, who has left The Shay.

"Brilliant lad, became a really important player for us and this is probably a great reminder of the journey players can go on because he had an incredibly wobbly debut for us away at Barnet and a number of wobbly games in that first season, gave away a few goals," Millington said.

"But what a player he turned into and he'll be remebered fondly for his time at The Shay.

"It's a wonderful story and one we use when we're looking to recruit other young, exciting players who we believe can go onto become excellent footballers."

Right-back Tylor Golden also left Town after the expiry of his contract.

"He shared his debut with Stotty, they were both probably equally as poor that day except Stotty got a red card," Millington said.

"But Tylor bounced back, like Stotty did, and just grew in stature at the club and has been an important part of the team and some very memorable games over the last two seasons.

"In both cases, I hope they get the recognition they deserve and they get Football League contracts."

Millington insists he isn't fazed by having to replace the duo though.

"We'll go again and we'll be competitive over the course of the season again," he said.

"We mentioned this time last year about how the club secures the finances to be able to nail these important players down when we get to September, October time, which is the optimum time to be talking to those who are going to be out of contract come the end of the season.

"If you don't, then however much they enjoy their time here, it's probably gong to result in them going elsewhere because they'll get strong financial offers from other clubs.

"So I want us to be better as a club because I want us to find a way to raise the money to be able to secure these lads before they get to the end of their contracts.

"But what we've also got to do is recognise that in the last three summers, we've lost around 13 to 15 players, hopefully to the Football League, if that's where Stotty and Tylor end up, which is a really positive selling point to lads coming in.

"That helps us sell the club to people who might be willing to come and play at Halifax Town for slightly less than they can get at some of our peers."

Another player to have left the club since the end of last season is midfielder Jack Hunter.

"He's had a fantastic two seasons at the club and has grown in reputation at that time," Millington said.

"We made him an offer and as other players became available, we let him know that if another player accepted an offer from us then we maybe wouldn't be able to bring him back and unfortunately, that was the case.

"Tom Pugh became available and took that slot before Jack was in a position to make a decision.

"He's got a good move and he's been an absolute pleasure to work with and a joy to get to know as a lad so we send him on his way wishing him all the best."

Striker Justin Iwobi remains available for transfer but no move is on the horizon.

"One or two light enquiries but nothing that is interesting enough to turn Justin's head at the moment," said Millington.