Knaresborough Town manager Simon Parkes urges his players to keep believing in themselves

Ewan Gregson was on target for Knaresborough Town during their FA Vase defeat at Seaham Red Star. Pictures: Gerard Binks

The Manse Lane outfit have tasted victory in just one of their last nine NCEL Premier Division matches and were knocked out of the FA Vase by Seaham Red Star on Saturday, losing 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes.

They did manage to overcome Route One Rovers in the West Riding County Cup last Wednesday, but it is league points that are the priority for Parkes, who feels that Town have already proven that they have what it takes to succeed at this level after winning all of their opening five Premier Division fixtures.

“We need to believe in the quality that we have got in our changing room,” he said.

"We know that we are in a bad rut and that we have to do better, but we showed with the way that we started the season that we have the ability to compete at the top end of this league.

“The lads have been a bit downbeat, however I think that there is still a lot to look forward to. This is such a tight division that we know that a couple of wins back-to-back can make a real difference in terms of position.

"We understand that we need to start picking up points more consistently – and quickly – but there are positives that we can take out recent performances, like in the game against Rossington, where we conceded twice in stoppage-time to lose 2-1 but should have been three or four goals up.

"To play as well as we did, against a side who are just above us in the table, the proof is in the pudding. We have got the quality on the pitch, it’s just about turning it into results.”

Ewan Gregson fired Boro into a 12th-minute lead against Northern League Seaham at the weekend, but the hosts levelled matters before the interval through Morgan Dart and neither side were able to find a decisive goal in normal time.

Dom Creamer and Jack Carr were on target in the shoot-out, however Ben Parkes, Brad Walker and Eddie Cass failed to convert their spot-kicks.

This Saturday, Town entertain top-of-the-table Campion, who have lost just once in their last eight league outings.