Moore senses new belief from Hebburn Town ahead of third consecutive away day

Daniel Moore has called for his Hebburn Town players to start believing in themselves as they prepare for a third consecutive away day at Leek Town.

The Hornets have endured a challenging period in their first season in the Northern Premier League Premier Division after they were handed consecutive away days against the division’s top two clubs. A 4-1 defeat at title favourites Macclesfield handed Moore and his players only their fourth loss in 13 games but they bounced back with arguably their best result of the season as top scorer Amar Purewal and defender Michael Turner both scored in a 4-2 win at second placed Worksop Town.

Another lengthy away day is on the agenda this weekend when Hebburn travel to face a Leek Town side sat four points and three places above the relegation zone after winning just four of their opening 14 games of the season. After receiving praise from recent opposition and claiming an impressive win at Worksop, Hornets boss Moore stresses his squad have to show the sort of belief he believes can allow them to carry on the momentum they have built up throughout a highly promising introduction to life at step three of the non-league pyramid.

He told The Gazette: “I have said to before but Macclesfield were very complimentary about us, the way we played and the way we went at them. The manager said some nice things about us too and I’ve given that back to the players. They were full of belief going into the Worksop game and that showed so we’ve now told them they have to start believing they belong at this level. Not many teams would go to Worksop and dominate them the way we did in that game and we have to make sure we carry that forwards into another long away day at Leek on Saturday and into the rest of the season because it has been a really positive one for all of us so far.”

Moore will assess the fitness of several of his players after enjoying the benefit of having a rare free midweek to prepare for Saturday’s game.