Harrogate Town must accept that there will be 'bumps in the road' during debut season in League Two

The Sulphurites were thrashed 5-2 in their own back yard by a visiting Iron side who began the evening second-from-bottom of the League Two standings.

The loss marks a definite low point since Town's arrival in the Football League, but Weaver feels that such results are to be expected as his players adjust to life in a higher division following two promotions in the space of just three years.

"We've come into this season off the back of a fairy-tale and you can't expect continual fairy-tales along the way. There's got to be bumps on the road and we accept that.

"We've got to prepare ourselves to learn harsh lessons this year, it's a new level we're playing at and the relentless nature of the onslaught of fixtures, two games a week, it's tough, however we have to be stronger.

"The players have to get even stronger as people so they can bounce back. We've just got to move on each time this happens - and this probably won't be the last time if I'm honest because this league is new to us.

"We've got to be prepared to roll with the punches this year because there will be more to come

"But, we have to find a way of bouncing back against a very good team [Forest Green] on Saturday, just like we did at Mansfield last week."