Harrogate Town starting to believe they can become more of a force to be reckoned with at League Two level

Following a bright start to their 2025/26 campaign, the Sulphurites suffered four straight League Two defeats before bouncing back with consecutive victories.

The second of those saw them topple league leaders Gillingham on Saturday afternoon, ending their unbeaten start to the season and inflicting a first loss on Gareth Ainsworth’s team in 22 matches.

That win was certainly no fluke, with Weaver adamant that his side headed to Priestfield knowing that they could come away with a result by playing their own game and passing the football.

And with confidence levels evidently on the rise, Town’s manager believes that there is a genuine opportunity for the club to finally transition from fourth-tier “small fry” to an outfit that can really make an impression at the level.

"The players are emerging,” he said. “You can feel that, you can sense it. The belief is growing, and with that, so is the standard of the performances.

"Back-to-back wins mean a lot. It’s hard winning any game in this league, but we have got to keep demanding from the players because there is an opening for them to start believing that we are a decent team, and not just a stable, plucky club that we keep being described as.

"We don’t want to be known as small fry, we want to be a progressive club, who people come and watch because we play entertaining, winning football.

“We’ve got good, technical players and we can’t have them thinking that we are just here to make up the numbers, or to try and nick a point. I think we are better than that, but the belief has to come from within.

“There will be bumps in the road, but as long as we stick together and keep playing to our strengths, then we can be a real handful.”

Harrogate’s victory at Gillingham leaves them 16th in the League Two standings, with 14 points to their name from 10 matches and still within touching distance of a play-off spot.