Swindon Town v Harrogate Town: Injuries bite but George Thomson says Sulphurites where they are on merit

Currently sixth in the table, the Sulphurites visit third-placed Swindon this afternoon missing four players and with question marks hanging over the heads of at least two more members of their squad.

But, despite being down to something approaching the bare bones, a 2-0 away success at Carlisle in midweek moved the North Yorkshiremen to within touching distance of an automatic promotion berth, and Thomson insists that he and his team-mates are where they are on merit.

“We’re three points off second currently and I think that we deserve to be right up there,” the 29-year-old midfielder said.

“I certainly think we can continue to challenge as well. That’s the aim. We want to be in the mix heading into the New Year, so we just need to keep grinding out results.

“Swindon on Saturday will be a really tough one. They’re flying at the moment aren’t they. I’ve seen the stats that show that they’ve averaged the highest percentage of possession in the league so far.

“They’ll have a big crowd behind them as well, but they are all tough games in this division. Look at how hard it was at Carlisle on Tuesday and they’re currently second-from-bottom.

“The gaffer and Thirs [Paul Thirlwell] will come up with a game-plan and we’ll go there confident after winning our last two away from home and be looking to come away with another positive result.”

Addressing Harrogate’s injury problems, he added: “We have got a few at the moment, however we won’t be using that as an excuse. This is the reason why you have a squad and we’ve got good players who can come into the team.”