Harrogate Railway manager Lee Ashforth
Harrogate Railway manager Lee Ashforth has hailed the influence of his captain Dan Thirkell.
Thirkell struck the last-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Brighouse Town last week and has been rated as one of their star performers this season.
Ashforth told Non League Yorkshire: “Dan has been brilliant.
“I put him on a goals bonus at the start of the year because he only scored one last season and that was a penalty in the last game.
“He’s popped up with three so far so we may have to look at that.
“He’s a clubman and this is his eleventh season. He’s loved around the place and he was tempted in the summer to go to Tadcaster.
“If someone comes in now, they’ll have to buy him because he’s contracted, but I don’t think Dan would want to leave.
“He’s putting in some phenomenal performances. He’s grown up a lot and he’s acting like a captain.
“He’s always been a bit of a clown around the dressing room, but this year he has really matured and he’s known when to nip it in the bud and lead the lads.
“He’s a fantastic captain.”
Thirkell’s strike earned Railway their second consecutive draw in the Evo Stik Division One North.
Prior to the stalemate at Scarborough, Railway had lost six straight league games.
Now Ashforth is seeing constant improvement from his side.
“I think we have turned the corner a little bit,” he added.
“We had a run of really difficult games where we lost six league on the trot and then we went to Scarborough and put in a really good performance.
“We did again on Saturday against Brighouse. We always said October was going to be a difficult month because of the fixtures we had and that’s been proven.
“The positive thing is that after we play Clitheroe tomorrow, after 15 games we will have played the whole of the top ten including Brighouse twice.
“I’m not overly worried because I think once as we play teams in and around us we have a good chance of moving up the table.
“We have some games coming up that are winnable. I said at the start of the season that I wanted 20 points by Christmas.
“We’re now on ten points so we’re halfway there. We now have to get those ten points by Christmas and then we’ll see where it goes in the New Year.”
Railway are away at Clitheroe tomorrow.