Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver threatens to ring the changes if his players don't toughen up

The Sulphurites will play at Leeds United in the third round of the Cup in January after winning two televised fixtures to reach that stage for only the second time.

They have also won both Yorkshire league derbies, yet after 18 matches they are 18th in League Two. Weaver was scathing about his "softies" in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat at Salford City, a chance to win four consecutive games for the first time since October 2020.

And he warned he will be in a position to do something about it as soon as the transfer window opens on New Year's Day.

"We'll have a chance to do something in the first week of January and we'll have to on the basis of Tuesday's performance," he said.

"Competition drives people. You can make speeches, hurt the ego a little bit, offer carrots and incentives but people need to be looking over their shoulder at quality and think their place can be under threat.

"We've got enough numbers to fill the bench, it's about quality and people who can make an impact and turn up consistently with the running power and intensity.

"We turn up under the bright lights and when we're not expected to win against Bradford, Doncaster, but it's nights like Salford when you have to properly dig in."

Both managers felt Salford ought to have won by more, and it was hard to argue.

"I'm devastated," said Weaver, who handed Zimbabwe striker Admiral Muskwe a debut from the bench after signing him the previous day.

"I've been speaking highly of the players in terms of bite, energy, being organised, but we looked like the team from earlier on in the season where we struggled for consistency.

"We look distinctly average in all aspects of our game when we do saunter around a bit and look a bit soft.

"There were players looking for contact to go down and I hate that in football. I don't want to see Harrogate Town players begging for free-kicks, squealing.

"We were a bunch of softies.

"I'm not going through this, wasting resources. It's not going to work with that.

"Across the board we were beaten up and yet we've beaten teams up recently.

"They were apologising to (opposition) players. They're a bunch of nice chaps but that gets you nowhere in football. We've got to show the ruthless side we did against Gillingham.

"We've been performing well in recent weeks and you go, 'Yeah, the tide's turned.'

"Maybe it's my fault, I gave people the weekend off and they turned soft. Maybe they watched games on Sky and thought they'd get a decision if they throw themselves down.

"Maybe minds were on the FA Cup draw but no one will be on board that bus in January if people can't show consistent intensity and effort to deserve to be footballers.

"People think we should go down every season and we will if we play like that because we're playing into everyone's hands. It's Betty's in Harrogate soft, looking like flakey schoolboys.

"I've been angry like this several times, which is disappointing and disconcerting. My job every year is to contribute to keeping the side as an established Football League club. There's ways of doing it and if it means we win three, lose three and survive then fine, but a lot of making them win is putting fire in their belly, hurting their egos sometimes and motivating them with good things and dreaming big.

"But it can be exhausting trying to squeeze as much juice out of the lemon.

"There's ways of staying up and if we have to do it by sinking and coming back again, so be it. But it doesn't' make me a happy man after an inept performance like Tuesday's."