Notts County v Harrogate Town: Simon Weaver not ashamed to show Magpies respect

Simon Weaver will have no problem with Harrogate Town showing one of England's most historic football clubs a little respect at Meadow Lane on Saturday.

It was Notts County the Sulphurites beat in the 2020 Conference play-off final to achieve league status but now the Magpies have caught them back up, their history and resources make them a League Two powerhouse.

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They play a style that reflects that, so Harrogate will not have to be embarrassed playing like underdogs days after giving divisional leaders Port Vale a scare.

"You look at the recent playing history of Notts County and the calibre of player they have and it's not giving them too much respect if they do have the ball a fair bit," said Weaver. "They have the lion's share of possession against the top five teams at this level.

"What we don't want to be is too stretched at times so their gifted players can get on the ball and do what they want with it.

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"I've got no problem saying we want to be stubborn and frustrate the opposition in games, it's a lot better than getting stuffed five and six-nil.

"But what we have to do is in possession show just as much energy so we can have spells as well."

And they can take positives from Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Darren Moore's Vale.

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RESPECT: Harrogate Town manager Simon WeaverRESPECT: Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver
RESPECT: Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver

"I thought we played some good stuff and could have got something from the game, particularly in the latter stages of the match when I thought we put them under a bit of stress and they were delighted to claim all three points," said Weaver.

"They're top of the league and playing with a lot of confidence, as you'd expect. They're a powerful outfit so to stretch them so much, we have to take confidence from that.

"We're fresh and ready to go, it's not like we exhausted all efforts the other night.

"We worked sensibly and didn't go gung-ho."

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