PETER CROOK is hoping Harrogate Town have an October winning-fest as the National League North high-flyers face a tough run of every team in the current top five.
Town play Chorley on Saturday, followed by Kidderminster Harriers and leaders AFC Fylde, before finishing their testing four-game schedule at home to Darlington 1883.
Not that life gets any easier in November, with a trip to Salford City followed by clashes with Tamworth and Brackley, as Simon Weaver's men play seven of the top ten back-to-back. And England C stopper Crook isn't hiding his excitement.
“We've got the top five coming up so it's going be a tough month,” Crook told The NLP. “If we get through that period I think we will do really well this season.
Insight
“We know what we're capable of. It's a matter of if we can come through this relatively unscathed then we'll have a real fighting chance.
“But there are no mugs in this league. Teams like Boston and Nuneaton, you'd expect to be in the play-offs and at the moment their towards the bottom end. That shows how tough the league is.
“It's exciting. As a player you want to play in the best games. We're looking forward to it.”
Highly-rated Crook had a trial at Premier League new boys Burnley in the summer, and has been watched by a number of Football League clubs.
For now he's only worrying about Harrogate – and feels the squad's new additions are settling down as the club aim to go better than last season's play-off semi-final defeat to Fylde.
“Burnley was a really good experience – I learnt a lot,” Crook, who made his debut for Non-League's Three Lions in Ukraine last season, said.
“It's given me an insight into what could come in the next few years depending on how well I do.
“We've got a few new lads in so we're still getting to know each other, but we're playing well.
“It's a bit different with the new 3G surface. We're really getting used to it now and over the next month, especially at home, I think we'll do well against teams who aren't used to how it plays.”
