Weaver backs MK Dons to seal promotion after beating his Harrogate side
“They punish teams when you’re not quite on it”
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver expects MK Dons to be playing League One football next season after they brushed his side aside 4-1 on Saturday.
Paul Warne’s side moved into second place in League Two as a result of the win, their 11th game without defeat, to move within five points of pace-setters Bromley, who have played an extra game.
While the Sulphurites have their focus on the opposite end of the table, sitting bottom of the pile, Weaver said he fully expects MK Dons to be promoted this term.
“We acknowledge that MK Dons should and probably will go up this season and fair play to them,” he said after his side’s defeat. “They punish teams when you’re not quite on it. We just have to be better at both ends - not to be too excitable and not to be too downbeat.”
Speaking about the game, he continued: “We’re disappointed to lose the game. I don’t feel like it was a 4-1 defeat, though in reality it is. In terms of performance, thought we were excellent at times. We needed to put away more chances, and that’s reflected in the scoreline.
“We gave away uncharacteristically soft goals today, and that’s the one regret. The lads held their hands up, and defensively, we were too soft. Against the calibre of player MK Dons have got, you can get punished, so we’ve got to dust ourselves down and not be too downbeat. We’ve got ten games to go and it is still very tight.
“I think we were a little bit excitable after going ahead and our structure just went awry a bit for five minutes, and that allowed them to puncture us a bit. That is something for us to recognise and learn from.
“Today, was the first hard lesson this group has had, and we’ll need to take it on our stride moving forwards.”