Harrogate Town v Leyton Orient: Simon Weaver urges players not to become over-protective

The Sulphurites have conspired to throw away 3-1 leads in each of their previous two League Two outings, drawing 3-3 at Rochdale last Saturday before somehow managing to lose 4-3 to Exeter City on Tuesday night.

While their defending has undoubtedly left plenty to be desired on each occasion, Town's manager feels that the real issue is the way his players have approached the second half of each contest having got themselves into a position of real strength.

Weaver believes his charges became worried about losing what they had at Rochdale, rather than focusing on carrying on doing the same things which got them into a position where they were two goals ahead.

With what happened in that match weighing on their minds, the Harrogate boss says Town fell into the same trap down in Devon, but has warned that the same mistake cannot be repeated against Orient.

"In more than a couple of games recently, we've dropped too deep and it's been like getting the gloves up against the ropes when we didn't need to. We've got to have more belief than that," he said.

"It's almost like we are getting ourselves into a good position and then becoming inhibited and worrying about 'what if it goes wrong?' instead of what we are trying to build in them, which is a belief that 'this is how we are coming on top and why we're in a winning situation'.

"Everybody has got to take responsibility. We didn't build from the back [at 3-1 up at Exeter], we didn't drop off at free-kicks, throw-ins or re-starts, we almost put the blinkers on and denied ourselves opportunities to spend some time on the ball.

"This is the way we want to play, with a bit more control, which means that players have to enjoy the ball a bit more and take it as enjoyment rather than a 'what if it goes wrong?' kind of mentality. That's what tends to exacerbate the problem when you're trying to protect leads, we want to be positive every step of the way.

"In terms of the goals that we conceded, there were plenty of bodies in and around it to fight for the ball, win the ball and defend properly, so it's not like we left ourselves exposed on this occasion. But, as it goes on, we have to stay in the moment and know what we are about."

Tuesday’s 4-3 loss at Exeter means that Town have now won just one of their last seven games in all competitions and saw them drop down to a season-low position of 15th in the League Two standings.

But, Saturday’s opponents are currently in even worse form. Orient – currently one place and five points behind the Sulphurites – are without a victory in 10 attempts and have scored only one goal during their previous nine matches.

Weaver however says he is expecting a "tough task" and insists that his players will need to be at their creative best if they are to make a return to winning ways and keep their own fans entertained.

He added: "They are normally 4-4-2 with a big lad up front, who they hit early, and big defenders. We've come up against this quite a bit at home so we've got to find a way of breaking them down and making sure that we are creative.

"As much as we want to bring stability to that rearguard action, we want to stay creative because it is entertaining, it is exciting.

"If we play for dour 0-0s at Harrogate Town, people won't turn up, they want to be entertained and to see goals and I can understand that, so let's keep on the front foot and keep entertaining and keep being strong.

"We'd love three points and that has got to be the aim, but we have got to think about how we can really produce a fantastic performance in front of the home fans.

"We have to think our way through the game and make sure we don't enter it angry or nervous, it's about going out and playing to our strengths."

The previous meeting between the sides ended in a 2-0 success for Town at Brisbane Road back in August, Luke Armstrong bagging a first-half brace.

Last season's clash at Wetherby Road finished 2-2 as Weaver's troops twice came from behind through Dan Jones and Josh McPake.

Kick-off this Saturday afternoon is at 3pm.