Harrogate Town’s performance during Oldham Athletic loss reaffirms Simon Weaver’s belief that Sulphurites can beat the drop

The Sulphurites were made to pay for not finishing off a number of clear goal-scoring opportunities as Jake Leake nodded in the only goal of Saturday’s contest after 60 minutes.

The positive for Weaver was that his players picked up where they left off at Tranmere Rovers in midweek, albeit without finding a way to put the ball in the back of the Latics’ net.

But, while defeat meant that Town spurned yet another opportunity to climb out of the drop zone, the fact that all of the other sides in the bottom five also lost leaves the Wetherby Road outfit just a point from safety.

And Weaver says he is confident that his charges can fight their way out of trouble, if they continue to deliver football of a similar quality on a regular basis between now and the end of the season.

“We are looking for a consistent attitude and consistent performance level, which will keep us in this fight, and I believe will get us out the right side of it,” he said.

"With seven games to go, there is everything to play for and we are very much in the ring.

“It’s not gone for us on Saturday, but I have to credit the spirit and performance level of the players.

"We are going to places like Oldham, who are riding the crest of the wave, and silencing the crowd because of our performance level being so strong.

"We’ve been playing some tremendous football, but we know that we have to start finding the target on a more regular basis.”

And the belief that second-from-bottom Town can beat the drop is not limited to within the four walls of their own dressing room, according to Weaver.

“A couple of the Oldham players came up to me after the game and said ‘you’re going to get out of it the way you are playing’,” he revealed.

“Micky Mellon, who is an experienced manager, said we have a tremendous spirit.

“So, if you have those two things aligned then we are going to remain in the fight and give ourselves every chance.”

Weaver is also of the belief that the exceptional backing that he and his players have received from the club’s travelling fans of late is another indicator that they are doing plenty right in spite of their league position.

"There were 9,500 at Oldham on Saturday and the 200 fans that were following us were right behind the team.

"Given where we are in the league, I get the feeling that they’d be singing not as pleasant songs if we weren’t performing so well

"It’s one in, all in at the minute, and we very much appreciate all the support that we are getting.”