Harrogate Town's Levi Sutton set to start against Tranmere Rovers and in contention for 'longer run in the team'

The 27-year-old central midfielder made his first league start since September when he was brought in from the cold for last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to AFC Wimbledon.

And although his performance was far from perfect, the former Bradford City man was one of the few Town players to come out of the game with a little bit of credit.

"Levi Sutton was one of the game’s better players last Saturday,” Harrogate boss Simon Weaver said.

"He has certainly put himself in the frame for a longer run in the team with such a passionate performance. I thought that he did great.

"He played for 90 minutes having not played for a while and that’s credit to him for how he’s trained.

"He made one crunching tackle which reverberated across the pitch because of the grit he showed in that moment, and we have wanted that.

"We need that. We all want to play through the thirds, and I think that we are able to do that because we are a good footballing team. But we need those tackles to be made and those duels to be won – and I thought that he did that last week.”

Sutton had to drop into the deeper midfield role initially occupied by captain Josh Falkingham following his 14th-minute substitution due to injury, and Weaver felt that he acquitted himself well.

“It’s not Levi’s natural position, to be the holder, but I thought that he did that well,” the Sulphurites chief added.

Sutton was a first XI regular during the early weeks of 2024/25, starting all of Town’s first seven matches, including their first five League Two fixtures.

But the form of Stephen Dooley and Dean Cornelius led to him falling down the pecking order, and until last weekend’s clash with Wimbledon, his only starts since early September had come in the EFL Trophy.

But, with fellow midfielders Falkingham and George Thomson ruled out until after the New Year, and Dooley rated as extremely doubtful to be fit enough to play at Tranmere this Saturday, Weaver’s options in the engine room are now far more limited.