Leon Legge was top of Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver's list of 'horrible centre-halves'

Leon Legge trained with his new Harrogate Town team-mates for the first time on Thursday morning. Picture: Harrogate Town AFC

The 36-year-old defender arrived at Wetherby Road from Port Vale on Tuesday after the Sulphurites accepted a bid which saw Connor Hall move in the opposite direction.

Formerly of Brentford, Gillingham and Cambridge United, Legge is in line to make his debut at Newport County this Saturday lunch-time, where it is expected that he will line up alongside 34-year-old Rory McArdle and form one of the most experienced central-defensive partnerships the Football League has ever seen.

But it is not just experience that Weaver expects his new recruit to bring to the party.

Sulphurites boss Simon Weaver. Picture: Matt Kirkham

“When we played Port Vale away from home last season, Leon really stood out for them. He was absolutely horrible to play against,” Weaver explained.

“So, when I rang him up the other day and spoke to him for the first time, that was what I told him. I said ‘you’re top of my list of horrible centre-halves. You are exactly what we need.’

“And he is. He’s a player who brings experience, leadership and professionalism - he was one of the first to arrive on Thursday morning for what was his first training session with us - but it is that physicality and presence that is so crucial for us.

“In League Two, it remains vital that you win the war. As much as we want to play football, you have to earn the right and you do that by standing up and being strong.

“Too many times this season we have been caught out by a long ball down the middle, from balls into the box or at set-pieces. It was something that we needed to address and a player with Leon’s power and ability will definitely help us to do that."