Harrogate Town aiming to be best team in League Two at bouncing back until they can find some consistency

Seventh in the League Two standings after 17 matches, the Sulphurites have enjoyed some excellent results so far this term and delivered a number of impressive performances both at home and on the road.

But mixed in with these positive showings have been some seriously lacklustre displays, particularly during recent weeks where Simon Weaver' s men have won just once in six league outings.

A first victory in five was secured away at Walsall the weekend before last and the encouraging nature of Town's performance suggested that perhaps better things were to come, only for them to go on to lose 2-0 at home to Salford City on Saturday afternoon.

Naturally, Weaver would love for his side to be able to embark on the kind of long unbeaten runs that leaders Forest Green Rovers and second-placed Exeter City currently find themselves on, but until they can tighten up at the back, that much sought-after consistency is likely to remain elusive.

So, while they remain a work in progress, Harrogate's manager has challenged his players to become the best side in the fourth tier at bouncing back from the kind of disappointments that he feels are part and parcel of being a recently-promoted club trying to establish itself at Football League level.

"What we are lacking a bit at the minute is that consistency," Weaver said.

“We must do better to be able to replicate and repeat performances like the one at Walsall because we were brilliant last week.

“It’s inevitable at this level, it’s the nature of the beast in this league that players dip in and dip out and so do performances. But, what we have got to do is make sure that we are the best in the division at recovering from set-backs.

"You've just got to take the battering and ride the punches at this level. There’s a lot of teams below us in the table, we are three points off fourth and we just have to start the engine again in midweek."

The midweek fixture Weaver which refers to sees Town travel to second-from-bottom Carlisle United, a team who are without a league success in 11 attempts.

But, despite the Cumbrians' poor recent form, the Harrogate chief has warned that there will be no easy three points on offer.

"It will be hard-fought win if we are able to achieve it," he added.

"I watched Carlisle's game from Saturday at Exeter - which is a hard place to go - and up until the sending-off [of Jon Mellish] they were very good.

"They've been playing in a 4-4-2 and they were pretty narrow, the two banks of four. They're hard-working, plenty of legs and energy and they have willing runners up front.

"Everybody scraps when they're down there in the table, so we have got to show the same amount of fight - and more - to come away with the points because there's much of a muchness at this level.

"You've got to expect a tough game, it's as simple as that. This is what this league is like, it's an absolute grind. We're still feeling sore from Saturday, but we have to have a resilience about us and be prepared to go again."

Kick-off at Brunton Park on Tuesday evening is at 7.45pm.