Harrogate Town v Tranmere Rovers: Simon Weaver hopes fans can help Sulphurites ‘get the deal done’

With seven games remaining, neither team is safe from falling into the relegation zone. The Sulphurites sit fourth-bottom, nine points clear of 23rd-places Morecambe, with their visitors sat in between, two points worse off.

A win on Tuesday for either side would clearly go some way to easing any lingering relegation concerns either club and their fans may have, and Harrogate should go into the contest with plenty of confidence given that they are currently enjoying a seven-game unbeaten run in front of their own supporters.

And it is those fans whom Weaver believes can help drive his players over the safety line if they turnout in their numbers.

“It should be a good night under the lights, hopefully it will be packed, hopefully back up to 4,000 or so,” the Town boss said.

“We’ll be passionate as we always are, we want to get the deal done and until you get the deal done, there is still that real goal to go for and so it’s about the whole club going for it.

“We are built on being solid, first and foremost, but obviously we want to add more goals to it, but that’s also down to confidence.”

Town head into Tuesday’s clash with a resurgent Tranmere side off the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Gillingham.

And, although largely satisfied with his team’s performance on Saturday, Weaver has warned that there are areas in which they have to improve if they want to get a result against a Rovers side who are unbeaten in six matches since Andy Crosby replaced Nigel Adkins as manager.

“We weren’t too protective at 1-0 and we tried to get on the front foot,” the Harrogate boss said. “But we want to be a bit more ambitious and a bit more cut-throat.

“The energy was there to go forwards, but we required a little bit more quality as a team in the final third when it came to taking people on and attacking crosses.

“That was the missing element, but also there were moments where we will have to do better if we are going to get a result against Tranmere. We have to stop the counter-attacks, even from our own set-plays when we’re in the ascendancy.

“We have to be running back harder and be acutely aware of the dangers. Tranmere mix their play up pretty well, their new manager has freed them up a bit, they’ve got some seasoned players in their team and I’ve been surprised to see them down there in the league.”

Town have no fresh injury issues following Saturday’s draw with the Gills and are hopeful that on-loan Bristol Rovers left-back Bryant Bilongo could recover in time from the hamstring strain which ruled him out at the weekend.

Tranmere, who beat Cheltenham 2-0 at home last time out, have never lost to Harrogate in a League Two fixture.

Of the previous nine fourth-tier meetings between the sides, the Wirral outfit have won six, including a 2-0 victory on their previous visit to Wetherby Road, in December 2023.