Dior Angus determined to make his mark at Harrogate Town following recovery from injury

“Bullied all over the pitch” was Sulphurites striker Dior Angus’ assessment of how Saturday’s League Two clash went for the Wetherby Road outfit, but at least the 28-year-old was out there to see it for himself.

Four months after joining the club as a deadline-day signing from National League Wrexham, Angus finally made his home debut for Harrogate following a frustrating spell on the sidelines.

The former Barrow and Port Vale forward started at Sutton United and made brief substitute appearances at Stockport and Stevenage in September before rupturing an ankle ligament at the end of that month.

Having recovered from that injury and worked his way back to fitness, he then saw his return to action delayed after he picked up the sickness bug which has been “rife” in the Town camp, just before New Year.

Introduced as a 73rd-minute substitute against Colchester, Angus would however make an almost instant impact, playing his part in setting up Luke Armstrong’s consolation goal not long after replacing George Thomson.

"It was my home debut and it was nice to get out there after the injury and then catching the illness that is going around,” he told the Harrogate Advertiser.

"It was good to be back playing. I felt lively, but that is what I am put on to do, so hopefully that continues, but the results pick up.

"I’ve worked hard during my rehab, so it’s a bit of a milestone for me to get back on the pitch, now I have to try and kick on again.

"I’ll take an assist, so it was good to get off the mark in that sense and it was nice to see Luke get another goal as well.”

Angus spent the best part of three months recovering from that aforementioned ankle injury, and he admits that being out for such a long time when he was so desperate to make his mark at his new club was difficult.

But, with so many other Town players sidelined at the same time, he did at least have plenty of company as he went about his rehabilitation.

"It’s been tough, it has,” Angus added.

"You have to find a little routine for yourself every day and just try and get through it that way because if you’re thinking too much about how long it is until you’re back then it can be frustrating if you feel like you’re miles away.

"So it was just a case of taking each day as it came really.

"It’s helped having a number of other players on the road to recovery with me because I didn’t really get to know the lads a great deal and then I’ve had 10 weeks away from them.

"But the lads that were injured as well, they were a help because you kick each other on and support each other because it’s not an easy time.”

Now fit again, Angus says he is hungry for game-time and determined to try and do his bit for a team who need to start picking up points again quickly if they are to maintain a healthy gap between themselves and the League Two relegation zone.

"I just want to get on the pitch as much as possible and put the ball in the back of the net as much as I can,” he continued.

"I don’t think that we are the same team as we were when I got injured [in September]. Look at the Mansfield performance, the Rochdale and Grimsby performances. We’ve got more than enough to not just stay up, but do well and see where we can take this season.”

Defeat to Colchester last time out saw Town miss out on the opportunity to move nine points clear of the bottom two, but it is the underwhelming nature of their performance against one of their fellow strugglers that is the real cause for concern.

Reflecting on Saturday’s display, Angus added: “It was just a feeling of disappointment in the changing room after the game.

"We probably got bullied all over the pitch and gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

"They were a physical side, but the gaffer and Thirs [Paul Thirlwell] warned us about that before the game and we didn’t deal with it.

"So, we have got to learn from that as well as putting it behind us and make sure we work hard this week to get better.”