AFC Wimbledon v Harrogate Town: Sulphurites urged to 'burst down the door' and come out fighting

The Sulphurites barely laid a glove on Walsall in midweek, conceding three times without reply in the space of 20 minutes during what was a dismal first-half display.

And Weaver has warned his charges that they cannot afford a repeat performance if they are to have any hope of turning over the Dons and securing a result which could put some much-needed daylight between themselves and League Two's relegation zone.

"We caved in. It's unsatisfactory for our supporters and for us, we are working day and night here to try and pull something together," the Harrogate chief said.

"We've said to the group that they have got to keep taking each harsh lesson, moving on from it and gaining what they can. It can't be 'oh we've cracked it because we've had a couple of decent home games'. We haven't cracked it yet, so can we get ourselves into a more comfortable position in the league so it alleviates the pressure off the shoulders and means we can play with even more freedom?

"We have got the fight, Paul [Thirlwell] and I to keep pushing the players, driving the players. It wasn't an effing and blinding session after Walsall, we were challenging the players to ask questions of themselves and have a real look in the mirror and attempt to get into that mindset to free themselves up a little bit and play with a bit more bravery.

"But the starting point has to be bursting down the door at Wimbledon on Saturday and going 'we're here, we are here as a group of street-fighters, who stick together'.

"We can't do that again, that first 20 minutes at Walsall, because it is just rolling over."

Rory McArdle’s needless foul on Liam Kinsella gifted the Saddlers an early penalty, which Danny Johnson converted to break the deadlock at the Bescott Stadium, then Liam Gordon rattled home number two in the 18th minute.

A third goal arrived when Jacob Maddox’s cross from the right was dispatched at the far post by Isaac Hutchinson, effectively ending the game as a contest.

And things could conceivably have got even worse for Harrogate before Matty Daly pulled one back late on, with goalkeeper Pete Jameson producing a couple of fine saves prior to Warren Burrell popping up with a goal-line clearance.

But, while he accepts that the display the Sulphurites served up was nowhere near good enough, Weaver insists that the character of the group should not be called into question.

"There are no bad eggs," he said. "It is so easy just to go 'oh they are rubbish lads, rubbish players, they're a let down and not fit to wear the shirt'. Admittedly nobody did well in the first 20 minutes, but they are the same players who got praised after the last few games, so we have just got to challenge them.

"They didn't set out to lose the game or to pass the ball astray a number of times, but we have to try and educate them a bit with the videos and encourage them but also say 'come on, have that visualisation in your mind that drives you on, that motivation, that purpose that meets that challenge of being in bigger stadiums, in front of bigger crowds, playing bigger teams with bigger budgets and meet it head' on because it is a challenge for us all at this level."

Tuesday’s result saw Harrogate slip one place to 21st in the League Two standings, while Wimbledon currently sit 17th with four victories to their name from 15 outings this term.

Last time out, Johnnie Jackson’s men were held to a 1-1 draw by Crewe Alexandra.