Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
07
Aug
‘We want to repay the faith’: Harrogate Town set to kick off National League campaign
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver says he wants to repay supporters’ faith in the club as his side kicks off their National League campaign.
Town were relegated from EFL League Two last season after six seasons in the English Football League.
The Sulphurites will begin the new campaign tomorrow (August 8) at home against Solihull Moors.
Weaver said he wanted his players to work hard and deliver in what will be a long 46-game campaign for Harrogate.
He said:
What we do not want it to be is monotonous and a grind. We do not want to make it boring. We do not want it to breed complacency and suddenly hit week one and all rationale goes out the window.
We have got to be calm, collected and know what we are about and carry out our roles the best we possibly can.
Town go into the opening fixtures after a series of incomings and outgoings in the summer transfer window.
Former Leeds United defender Tom Lees and last season’s top scorer in National League South, Brad Dolaghan, are among the latest signings through the door at Wetherby Road.
Senior midfielder George Thompson also signed a new deal with Town.
Tom Lees.
However, Anthony O’Connor, Reece Smith and Jack Evans have all left the club in the last few weeks.
Weaver said he chose not to take the squad away for pre-season this year in order to “drill down roles” within the team.
He said:
It has been a hard schedule for them. We haven’t been away at all, we just wanted to drill down the roles and bring clarity to our game model this pre-season. The coaches have delivered that.
It has been a breath of fresh air from all corners of the club. We did not want to have the excuse that we did not have time to gel.
Ahead of the new season, Weaver said he wanted to repay the faith from fans that was shown to the players after they lost their EFL status at the end of last season.
He said:
It has been resounding. Even the last game of the season, the way they gave the players an ovation made me immensely proud of the club we are. We are hoping to repay that faith from day one.
Harrogate Town will kick-off against Solihull Moors at the Marcy Fitness Stadium at 3pm.
0