Simon Weaver 'excited' by Harrogate Town's 'difficult' opening-day clash with Doncaster Rovers

But, the Sulphurites chief is certain that his side will be in for a much tougher test than they faced during their previous visit to the Eco-Power Stadium.

Late goals from Luke Armstrong and Alex Pattison earned Town a richly-deserved 2-0 victory over their Yorkshire rivals back in March as Rovers' form dropped off the edge of a cliff under former boss Danny Schofield.

The South Yorkshiremen have since appointed former Hull City head coach Grant McCann to the managerial hot-seat, with Weaver anticipating that his players will come head-to-head with an entirely different proposition on August 5.

"It's a really exciting fixture, one that everyone at the club is very much looking forward to," he told the Harrogate Advertiser.

"If you're going to be away from home for your first game of the season then in an ideal world you want it to be at a place where it's easy enough for the supporters to get to, so that they can come and back the lads.

"It's a bit of a local derby in a great stadium, so for me, it's a great fixture, we are really pleased to be playing Doncaster on the opening day, but it is also a really difficult start.

"You look at the new manager who they have brought in and the changes that they have made, they are going to be a lot stronger than they were last season.

"But, we hope that we will be stronger ourselves with the squad that we are putting together, so I'm sure it will make for a great game of football."

Town's first home league game of the new campaign will take place seven days later when newly-relegated Forest Green Rovers are the visitors to Wetherby Road.

And with Accrington Stanley and Morecambe lying in wait before the end of August, the Sulphurites will have to face-off with three of the four teams who have dropped down from League One in the space of their opening five fixtures.

"It is going to be a challenge, three clubs who were in League One last season inside the first month, but that kind of difficulty is no different to any other year in League Two," Weaver added.

"It promises, on paper, to be a great division to be in, really competitive. But we don't want to just be turning up pleased to be taking part, we need to be delivering solid performances and make sure we are putting points on the board.

"It's a tough start, but we want to see energy and good football and to be picking up results and making the supporters proud."

Harrogate have been drawn at home to League One Carlisle United in the first round of the Carabao Cup, with that tie scheduled to take place on August 9.