Toolstation NCEL Division One
Four wins on the spin have placed Harrogate Railway well and truly in the race for the play-offs, says Mick O’Connell.
Rewind to one month ago and Railway had blown a fantastic chance to close the six-point gap between them and the top five after losing to Clipstone.
However, the run of victories against Teversal, Nostell Miners Welfare, Shirebrook Town and Rainworth Miners Welfare have propelled them to fifth place and O’Connell is delighted.
“Don’t get me wrong and no disrespect to the teams we have played but we have had a decent run (of fixtures),” O’Connell told Non League Yorkshire.
“Nostell was the only one we thought we could slip up in.
“We have been winning games without playing brilliantly.
“I thought we were brilliant against Nostell and since I came to the club that’s probably our best performance.
“We completely and utterly blew them away.
“I know it is early days but four straight wins has put us in the mix for where we want to be.
“We’re in a good position.
“I think there is two or three teams with too much firepower for us to win the league.
“I think it is way beyond us but I’d be very disappointed if we don’t make the play-offs.”
Their lofty heights is unfamiliar for Railway in the past six years when it has been constant struggle.
But those days are behind them and O’Connell believes his young side will get better and better.
“We’re only going to get stronger,” he said.
“The group is starting to mature and some of the younger players are learning what it takes to win games in this league.
“The spirit is really good.
“Last week we didn’t play well against Rainworth but we still won 4-1.
“Last year we’d have got a draw out of a game like that.
“We’re good in possession, we’re hard to break down so I think we’re ticking a lot of boxes at the moment and we’ll keep improving.”
The next two weeks will test Railway’s steel and allow an assessment of how they compare to the front-runners.
A visit to Rossington Main on Saturday is the first battle.
Some say Rossington are the best footballing side in the Division and this is followed by a home clash with leaders Brigg Town at Station View.
“We know plenty about Rossington,” he said.
“They do play a really good brand of football and they have exciting players at the top end of the pitch.
“I’ve done my homework on them and we’ve watched so we know exactly what we need to do to go and get a result.
“That means we have to be very good with our possession.
“We have worked hard last night on how to nullify them and how to attack them.
“Going back to your question, I think it is going to be a good two weeks for us.
“We have Rossington and Brigg, we’ll know exactly where we are at the back of those games.”