Hartlepool United 2 Harrogate Town 0: Boss Weaver insists there is no crisis as he calls for a 'horrible' streak in his players

Town followed last Saturday’s embarrassing 4-0 home defeat against Newport County with a 2-0 loss at Hartlepool United on Tuesday night in the EFL Trophy – a third straight defeat and a third game without finding the net.

But while Weaver was moved to apologise to the supporters for the performance at home on Saturday, he was more heartened by the display from his side on the north east coast.

A poor opening 45 minutes looked to be something of a hangover from the Newport debacle, but a few choice half-time words and a switch in tactics brought about, what the manager hopes, is a change in attitude and fortunes.

"I thought that first half we were a bit soft and the goals we conceded were bitterly disappointing,” said Weaver. “It gave them a massive foothold in the game. There was nothing between the two teams and we give them two goals which was obviously a punch in the stomach.

Harrogate Town: 'The match was gone and I stayed more out of duty than hope'

“I asked for a reaction in the second half and we did play a lot better, there was more intensity and their keeper pulled off a couple of good saves. Had those chances gone in, it would have obviously been very different.

“I feel that we turned over a new page in the second half in terms of that real desire to make the tackle and do the sprint when we needed it, as opposed to still feeling sorry for ourselves in the first half.”

Weaver believes a switch in the system may have helped to liven up his side as he called for more of a nasty streak in his players.

“We switched to a 4-3-3 because we were just too slow across the back and putting another body further forward gave us more intensity in the middle of the park, there were more tackles being made and it was more of what we have been about over the last few years,” he said. “We are probably missing a little bit of seniority through injuries. We had a period where we stayed clear of any injury issues, but the last 18 months or so have hit us hard.

“It is still very early in the season, there is no crisis, we need to keep working together, make sure we are intense, make sure we are horrible off the ball and work our way through it.”

Harrogate Town 0 Newport County 4: Town manager Simon Weaver apologises to supporters after heavy 4-0 home defeat

Town travel to Sutton United on Saturday looking to turn the tide and also find the net, not that Weaver is losing confidence in his forward players.

“There is probably a little bit of a lacking in confidence, one or two are needing a goal, but we back these forwards that we have got,” he said. “We need to create more chances for these lads as well. We have three good lads in Matty Daly, Jack Muldoon and Luke Armstrong, who are all top players for this division and we need to get more pressure higher up the field and get more balls into the box. Too often we have failed to deliver.