FC Halifax Town manager Chris Millington casts doubt over his future after loss at Oldham Athletic

But he couldn’t answer one question. The burning question. His future and would he be sticking around.

"It's a really tough question to answer, I'll have to speak to the chairman," he acknowledged.

Despite his side’s 4-0 evisceration in their National League play-off at Oldham, Millington’s future was not under the microscope due to its manner.

Respected non-league observers recognise the job that the 49-year-old has done with limited budgetary resources in keeping Halifax competitive at the sharp end of the table in recent seasons despite the depressingly regular cycle of leading players exiting each summer due to the club’s contractual policy of not handing out longer-term deals.

That will now happen again, despairingly so for a 1,893-strong away contingent at Oldham whose impressive numbers showed that a Halifax team would not be short of backing should they return to the EFL.

Tellingly, Millington spoke of needing someone with the ‘energy’ to go again and build a new Shaymen side. Will that be him or will he - like his similarly impressive predecessor in Pete Wild three years earlier - decide he is better served by heading elsewhere this summer? The smart money appears to be on that.

Millington questions club’s contract philosophy

Millington continued: "The cycle at this club - because of the way we have to recruit and develop a squad to be successful - you must have a long-term plan and there's going to be an awful lot of turnover of players this summer, even more than the last couple of summers.

"So I need to speak to the chairman and decide between us whether or not I'm the right person to do that, and at the moment, I don't know.

"We've got to go and recruit players who've got potential, who we can develop over a period of two or three seasons, but then we've got to have the contract structure and the courage to hold onto them when offers come in for them.

"So it's going to require somebody who's got the energy, the ability and the willingness to go for two to three seasons.

"And it's also going to require the chairman and the fans to buy into that process because it ain't going to be a quick fix.”

Halifax’s ability to nurture top National League talent precedes them. From Andrew Oluwabori, Millenic Alli and Kane Thompson-Sommers to Jack Senior, Jesse Debrah and Jamie Stott.

Keeping them and selling a Football League dream is another matter entirely.

“Unless you're going to throw significant money at it, like Oldham, York and Forest Green, you've got to build over a period of a couple of seasons or more,” Millington added.

"And to do that, you've then got to have the courage of your convictions to stick with the process and if you don't do that, then you're going to fall short.”