Unofficial Halifax Town » Managers » Mark Lillis » Overview

Mark Lillis

Mark Lillis will not be remembered for his managerial skills, but he was a true gentleman who had time for the supporters. Sadly this doesn’t win you football matches or the patience of the supporters and in the end both of these proved to be his downfall.

Whilst had had coaching qualifications longer than his arm, he failed to make the step up from Assistant Manager, as he was at Scunthorpe United, to manager at The Shay.

He was not helped by the constant rumours about just who exactly was in charge with Peter Butler often being accused of 'running the show' with Lillis just the mouthpiece. But this judgment was maybe unfair on the former Aston Villa striker who proved popular with the players because of his different training methods.

Filling the shoes of crowd favourite Kieran O'Regan was never going to be easy, but a poor start to the season ensured a long hard season for the manager. He managed to last the season and start the next but left the club in September after a 5-1 defeat at Mansfield left the club rooted to the foot of the division.