Harrogate Town's Dean Cornelius says 'the sky is the limit' for him following recent run of games

The 22-year-old stood out as the League Two Sulphurites’ most eye-catching signing of the summer when Simon Weaver beat off competition from elsewhere to sign the “box-to-box midfielder” from Scottish Premiership outfit Motherwell.

A bright pre-season was backed up by a superb opening-day performance against Doncaster Rovers as Town triumphed 1-0 away from home to make the perfect start to the 2023/24 campaign.

A wrist injury sustained at Accrington Stanley a fortnight later would however halt that early momentum, with Cornelius struggling to make too much of an impression on his return to fitness during a run of games which saw him in and out of Harrogate's starting line-up.

But, things seem to have clicked for the Scotsman in recent weeks. He has benefited from being paired with Stephen Dooley in the Town engine room and now appears to be going from strength-to-strength.

Although he endured a difficult afternoon as the Sulphurites were mauled by League One leaders Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup on Saturday, Cornelius was far from being alone in that regard.

And the nature of his performance in his previous appearance, during last week’s 2-2 home draw against high-flying Wrexham, suggests that if the Glasgow-native continues on his current trajectory, then Weaver will have some player on his hands.

"There is still more to come from me,” Cornelius said. “I always feel like the sky is your limit, I don’t see anything stopping me and I will always back my own ability.

"I’ve definitely benefited from getting a run of games, and that’s thanks to the manager for putting his faith in me. Confidence only grows when you’re getting picked every week and I am just looking forward to getting out there and playing the games.

“When you're full of confidence, any player can look good and it goes all the way through a team. Once things start clicking, you see it in every player, everyone then makes that extra wee movement, they want on the ball more, they move it quicker.

"If you're really confident, then you're going to be on top of your game. I feel that each week it's coming, that my confidence has been growing. You can see it on the pitch that I want the ball more. I know myself that I can create things and chip in with a few goals for the team.”

Town’s recent draw with Wrexham saw Cornelius register his first competitive goal for the club having gone 16 games without finding the net.

And he believes that composed low effort against one of the division’s best sides can be the first of many in Harrogate colours.

"I’d like to hope that there are more goals to come from me,” he added.

"I scored two in a couple of pre-season games and I was thinking, ‘God, I'm going to be flying this season’. Unfortunately, it's not gone that way, but, like I’ve said before, I think that it's a confidence thing as a player.

"And, with the partnership with Stephen Dooley, I’ve been given license to go forward a bit more. And that’s what I want to do at this club because I know that I’ve got the energy to get up and down the pitch.

"That’s what I was signed for, as a box-to-box midfielder but I spoke to the manager before the season started and he said that I need to add goals to my game. I did in pre-season and so hopefully I can now replicate that in the league.”

On the strike that sparked Town’s stirring comeback against the Red Dragons, Cornelius continued: “I didn’t have much time to think, I was just aiming to hit it hard and low, like you are always taught growing up.

"But, in football, you’re often at your best when you’re not actually thinking too much, believe it or not.

"If you’re just doing something off the cuff, if you back your ability, things will take care of themselves – and that finish against Wrexham was quite an instinctive one.”