Newport County v Harrogate Town: Brendan Kiernan and Tom Walker 'pushing' to start against League Two leaders

Brendan Kiernan made an impression from the substitutes' bench during Harrogate Town's goalless draw with Stevenage. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

The duo were introduced in the second half of Tuesday’s goalless draw at home to Stevenage and added a little bit of spark to what had been a largely laboured attacking display by the Sulphurites.

And, with a tough test against the League Two leaders to come this weekend, Weaver has revealed that he could opt to shuffle his pack based on what he witnessed in the final half an hour in midweek.

“Both Tom and Brendan came on and made an impact on the game and they needed to. Lads have to come off the bench and show that they’re proper first-team players,” the Town boss said.

“Tom committed to a couple of strikes and that’s what we wanted, players taking the handbrake off and really going for it.

“Brendan did very well getting at their full-back, which was good to see. We need that to be able to break down teams who just want to keep numbers behind the ball.

“You’ve got to be able to beat a man and you can’t be too predictable in order to disorganise the opposition when they’re sitting in.

“We didn’t do it enough in the game, but we were better later on and credit to those lads for coming on cold and making an impression. They’ll be pushing for a starting place on Saturday now.”