Harrogate Town v Hartlepool: Simon Weaver full of praise for ‘unique’ Alex Pattison

The 24-year-old, who failed to score once in 64 senior appearances for Wycombe Wanderers and Yeovil Town prior to signing for the Sulphurites last summer, netted just 10 minutes into his debut on the opening day of the season and hasn’t looked back.

The former Middlesbrough man has been one of Harrogate’s stand-out performers this term, adding an extra dimension to their attacking play with his ability to drive past opponents from the centre of the park.

Tuesday’s first-half opener during a 1-1 draw with Port Vale took him into double-figures, while he has also chipped in with five assists – statistics that don’t surprise Weaver, despite Pattison’s track-record in front of goal.

“I did think that he was dynamic enough to be able to score this amount of goals when we brought him in,” the Town boss said ahead of Saturday’s League Two fixture at home to Hartlepool United.

“His first against Rochdale on the opening day of the season was great news. I remember turning to Thirs [Paul Thirlwell] and saying ‘this is great news for us as a team, him bursting forward like that and scoring a great goal’.

“He’s very much our type of player. He brings that pace and power from the middle of the park and I think that he is quite unique at this level.

“He brings those goal-scoring opportunities because of the way he plays and puts opponents on the back foot. Tuesday’s was another really great finish and I’m very pleased for him.

“It’s down to confidence I think, because he has all the ingredients to keep carrying that threat from midfield and to go on and finish with 15 this season.”