Harrogate Town v Shrewsbury Town: Weaver issues message for Sulphurites

The Sulphurites went down 3-1 at top-of-the-table Swindon at the weekend, with that result following on from defeats to Crawley, Bromley and Chesterfield.

But, with their performances during those games fairly positive on the whole, the Town boss is adamant that his side are “not far off” where they need to be.

And, with struggling Shrewsbury due to visit Wetherby Road this Saturday lunchtime, Weaver is backing his troops to "bounce back" if they keep their heads and keep working hard in training.

"We've got good characters in there, they all want to do well," he said. "We've got quite a few who have stepped up to this level and it takes some adapting to.

"I think that we have got to see beyond outcomes at times. I know that sounds cheap coming from a manager, because results do dictate and we have lost four on the bounce in the league.

"But, it is a long season, it's a marathon, and this is the kind of league where most teams can win four, then lose four. It can be all over the place.

"And what we have got to do is be calm, keep the players organised and working hard. There's no devastation because we know that we are not far off it.

“It’s still very early days. The decent start that we did have has put us in a position where we are still only one win away from a mid-table position. And, without sounding unambitious, that’s still a decent position to be in for a club like us.

"We want to be ambitious, we want to push on and we can bounce back very quickly."

On what he feels 17th-placed Town need to focus on to give themselves the best chance of taking something away from this Saturday's showdown with second-from-bottom Shrewsbury, Weaver added: “The lads need to keep their energy up in training.

“That’s where we work hard at our craft and we have to keep challenging them.

“We’ve got to try to increase our quality into the final third, and keep lads switched on inside our defensive third.”