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Jul
Simon Weaver: Harrogate Town must be ‘calm in the chaos’ of opener against Bristol Rovers
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Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver has urged his side to be ‘calm in the chaos’ of his side’s first EFL League Two fixture of the season.
The Sulphurites will travel south to face relegated Bristol Rovers on Saturday (August 2) in what is set to be an immediate test for the North Yorkshire side.
The Pirates averaged around 8,000 fans at the Memorial Stadium last season, who Weaver expects to be ‘roaring them on’ from the get-go.
But he urged his players to remain steadfast. Weaver said:
We’ve got to be calm in that chaos, manage ourselves with discipline, and execute the game plan to the best of our ability. If we do that, then we can calm it right down and take our moment to shine. First game of the season away at Bristol Rovers, there’s no greater opportunity to do that.
Rovers recently reappointed club legend Darrell Clarke, who led the club to back-to-back promotions from the Vanarama National League to League One between 2014 and 2016.
They have also made a flurry of new signings as they bid to regain promotion to the division above.
Most notable of the club’s seven signings is Luke Southwood – the Northern Ireland international goalkeeper joined from Bolton for an undisclosed fee this month.
Weaver will also be afforded a reunion with last season’s loanee, Bryant Bilongo. The 23-year-old left back made 16 appearances for Town after his move in January, scoring in his final game as they beat Morecambe 2-1.
The Harrogate boss revealed what he expected from the Bristol side:
We expect them to be a team that’s up for it, under a manager who’s had success there before. We’ve worked on their systems that they’ve utilised in pre-season, the 3-4-3 and the 3-5-2, so we do know what to expect in terms of shape, and we’ve worked hard during the course of the week to prepare the lads.
We want to stay razor sharp and focused on the job in hand, and to manage ourselves as people. Being too wound up can transmit nerves across the team. Each individual has to play the best part they can play as a team player because we’ve always been about unity and togetherness.
Harrogate's match against Bristol Rovers will kick off at 3pm on Saturday.
The Stray Ferret will feature an extended interview with Simon Weaver previewing the new EFL season this weekend.
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