Leyton Orient will respect surprise National League leaders Harrogate Town but assistant coach Ross Embleton believes the O’s are capable of stopping their opponent’s unbeaten start when the teams lock horns this weekend.

Many wouldn’t have expected Orient’s trip to Harrogate to be a top of the table clash when the National League fixtures were released back in July, but Simon Weaver’s side have been one of the surprise packages this campaign.

The Yorkshire outfit earnt promotion to the National League for the first time in their history when they beat Brackley Town 3-0 in the National League North Play-Off final last campaign, and have started this season in fine form, with seven wins and four draws from their first 11 games.

Harrogate and Orient are the only remaining teams in the National League who are currently unbeaten, with the O’s just two points behind their opponents in third place following Saturday’s win over Barnet.

If results go their way, a win for the O’s could send them top of the pile come 5pm and assistant coach Embleton believes the East London side have enough quality to overcome their rivals.

Asked whether he was surprised by Harrogate’s start to the season, Embleton said: “I wouldn’t say surprised, because I didn’t know a massive amount about them. They’ve had a good season last year and they’ve come up. The longer run they put together then you start to notice them more.

“Clearly they’ve got good players. They’ve come in to the division with no fear and they deserve huge credit for the impression they’ve made. We will respect what they are about.

“We know they’ve caused a real threat and have had a fantastic start to the season. But we know we’ve got our own threats to counteract that and we need to go there and get a result and then turn that point into three if possible.”