Harrogate Town are 'still learning' in League Two and ups and downs were to be expected, says Simon Weaver

Simon Weaver says that his Harrogate Town players are still adjusting to the rigours of League Two football and insists that the club’s poor run of recent form is nothing to be overly concerned about.
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver. Pictures: Getty ImagesHarrogate Town manager Simon Weaver. Pictures: Getty Images
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver. Pictures: Getty Images

Following an extremely bright start to life in the EFL which saw them win four of their opening seven matches and climb as high as fourth position, the Wetherby Road outfit have tailed off somewhat during the last fortnight.

Having lost three of their last four and collected just a solitary point from 12 on offer, Town now find themselves 14th in the table.

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But, Weaver is of the opinion that it would have been naive to have expected the club’s first-ever Football League campaign to be all plain sailing.

Harrogate Town kicked-off their maiden season as an EFL club with a 4-0 rout of Southend United and went on to win four of their first seven matches.Harrogate Town kicked-off their maiden season as an EFL club with a 4-0 rout of Southend United and went on to win four of their first seven matches.
Harrogate Town kicked-off their maiden season as an EFL club with a 4-0 rout of Southend United and went on to win four of their first seven matches.

“We are still learning at this level and players are allowed time to learn,” Weaver told the Harrogate Advertiser.

“It’s not all doom and gloom, we’re still in a fantastic position in the table, we’ve just got to make sure that we learn without becoming too bruised.

“You can’t just go up [to the National League] and do well, then go up again [to League Two] and not expect a few steep learning curves along the way.

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“There were always going to be peaks and troughs this season because it’s our first year in the Football League.

“You can’t be too down, but we are all grown-ups and know that we can point out areas that are warning signs, because a little bad run can turn into a blip if they don’t get sorted and people don’t rise to the occasion and learn from weak displays.

“Tuesday was one of those and we’re hurting right now, but we’ve lost 1-0 and been were shocking in the second half yet could still have equalised. We haven’t been whacked off the park.”

Their most recent loss came at the hands of Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday in a game where Town followed up a promising first-half display with arguably their most lacklustre 45 minutes of the season to date.

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“It’s frustrating because we went in at half-time knowing that we had been the dominant force,” Weaver added.

“We were in the ascendancy and played some fantastic football. The second half was the polar opposite and they [Tranmere] eventually ran out deserved winners.

“I’m disappointed for the fans because we were terrible in the second half, but it’s our first season in the EFL and we can’t get too down.”