Doncaster Rovers v Harrogate Town: Simon Weaver trying to keep the derby magic - without the drop-off

But six mid-season signings have been about protecting the qualities that have seen them rise to big occasions, whilst trying to avoid the drop-off that so often follows.

The bad news for Doncaster Rovers is that on Saturday they host the Sulphurites, a team they have not beaten since Harrogate joined the Football League.

Their four wins and a draw is even better than their record against Bradford City – seven wins and a draw in 10. Even their recent FA Cup third-round exit at Leeds United was a moral victory, just a Largie Ramazani goal separating two teams at opposite ends of the Football League ladder.

"I don't know what to say, really, because you can soon come unstuck if you say, 'We're really good at this,'" says Doncastrian Weaver. "We've tried to have players that are up for it on each of those occasions.

"But football soon moves on and what we do know is we have to be on it because they (Doncaster) are quality opposition.

"I've been delighted with the energy the lads have shown. I've been grateful to the lads for wearing the shirt with pride on each occasion."

But for all that, not to mention November's FA Cup win over Wrexham, Harrogate are 17th in League Two. Backing up big performances can be tough with one of the division's smallest squads, which is why some of the FA Cup cash has been spent on Tom Cursons, Tom Hill, Olly Sanderson, Bryant Bilongo, Eko Solomon and Bryn Morris.

The two Toms could make debuts at Doncaster, Sanderson, Bilongo and Solomon first starts. But all will have to show they have bought into what has brought Harrogate up from Conference North.

"We've tried to drill it into the newcomers what we're about," says Weaver, who has led the journey since 2009.

"In the Zoom calls and the meetings with agents and players we've set our demands. We've tried to attract players who will lap it up rather than fight against it.

"We always demand energy and a real honesty and they're the types of players who have done well on derby days. We just want a continuation and that bit more consistency now.

"Perhaps players have been over-worked, over-played at times in comparison to other teams and it's only taken a few injuries to then not quite have enough on the pitch.

"Now we've got a lot more padding but everyone's come to play.

"It's about trying to read and manage the situations to be fair to those players who have given so much. You've got to pre-empt that drop-off in energy levels but when we pre-empt it, we've not been able to change it (effectively).

"Our identity is all about energy and it's really difficult to slate players because they run through brick walls but the tank's not always full.

"But they'll see good players come and won't want to sacrifice their position."

Harrogate are unbeaten in the league since the transfer window effectively opened (New Year's Day signings like Morris were ineligible for that days' game), and the mood seems to have shifted.

"You can't get ahead of yourselves but I think we turned a bit of a corner in the win away at Barrow in the week before Leeds which helped us in the game at Leeds," argues Weaver. "It's a mentality test going there so a clean sheet and a good win gave us a tonic and that belief.

"Taking it to Leeds and doing it on a big stage, the lads were all buoyed."

Weaver has been pepped up by the signings too.

"It's been fantastic," he says. "We were loud and clear with the message to the existing group.

"We struggled around November/December. We said to the group we'll try to get as many good performances out of you as possible but eventually it is all about results and believing in something.

"There were two or three games, especially Salford, where I thought, 'Nah, it doesn't feel right here.' If anyone leaves, it's not because they've not had an opportunity.

"Action was certainly needed and we're not out of the woods yet but we've reinforced the squad with aspirational characters.

"We just want to get to 50 points as soon as possible to cement our position in the Football League. Half the division can go down, that's just being realistic, it's such a tight league.

"A lot of teams can put back-to-back wins together. We've played two or three more games than some but it's good to get points in the bag and we've got build on that distance from the bottom two to try and cement ourselves in the middle third."