Stockport County v Harrogate Town: Recent displays good enough to prevent Simon Weaver being too 'alarmed' by losing run

Matty Lund’s last-gasp header condemned the Sulphurites to a 1-0 defeat at home to Salford City on Tuesday night, meaning that they are now without a League Two point or even a goal from open play in almost a month.

Their last victory came at Gillingham on August 16, and in the seven-and-a-half hours of football that have passed since, Town have just a solitary Luke Armstrong penalty against Sutton United to show for their efforts.

But, having strengthened his squad significantly on transfer deadline day and subsequently witnessed a couple of improved displays, Weaver feels that he now has a group of players at his disposal who possess both the required quality and character to get their season back on track.

Asked if he was worried after five straight defeats, he replied: “No. I would be if we’d just put in a display like the Newport game, but I know the last two performances have been better. We were better at Sutton and better again on Tuesday night.

"I think we have got the quality in the squad now and look a far different team. We are emerging as a force and gelling as a team.

"It is about how we manage the players because they will look at the results. I’ve managed a long time at this football club and I know that this isn't a big club at this level and I know that we can go on runs like this. There will be peaks and troughs, especially when you're doing a rebuild.

"So, it doesn't alarm me and, after Tuesday night, I’m not overly concerned because one thing we've got in abundance at this football club is resilience.

"This is a tough league so defeats will happen. We don’t sensationalise a run of form when it’s going against you but you are still performing like we did on Tuesday night. It's about how much you want it, and we want it hugely."

That aforementioned resilience will doubtless prove crucial to Town’s chances of arresting their recent sequence of defeats when they visit Stockport County this weekend.

The Hatters, who currently sit level on points with 19th-placed Harrogate, haven’t made the greatest of starts to life in League Two following their promotion from the fifth tier at the end of last season, winning just two of their opening seven matches.

But, they have been attracting crowds in excess of 10,000 to some fixtures and Weaver is certain that his players will have to negotiate a hostile atmosphere at Edgeley Park.

“I said to the players in the dressing room [on Tuesday night] that you’ve got to keep your heads up because what you don’t want to do is feel too bad about losing a game in the 93rd minute and then you don’t produce the same energetic display on Saturday, which we have to," he added.

"Confidence in football is huge and if I beat them with a stick after how well they performed against Salford just to show the world how I am frustrated to have lost that game and to have lost five in a row, I'd be being false.

“After four losses, we didn't look short of confidence against Salford, which is testament to the staff I've got around me and also the leaders in the group because they’re going 'no, it's okay, we're okay, we know defeats can happen, particularly in the middle of rebuild.'"But, we will see who are the men amongst them in what is a cauldron at Stockport on Saturday. It’s a fantastic place to play and we're all looking forward to it, however we know that we will have to show personality to get a result there.”

Saturday’s clash with Stockport kicks-off at 3pm.