Newport County will want to turn their recent fortunes around when they visit the JobServe Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with one win in their last six games.
Manager - Michael Flynn
Top Scorer(s) - Tristan Abrahams, Padraig Amond (8)
Last Result - Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Newport County 02/03/2021
Newport's last win came on the road at Walsall on the 24th February, when Joss Ladabie's second half goal was the difference between the two sides. Boss Michael Flynn would have hoped at the time that it would kick-start his team, but in the two games since, they have played out a goalless draw with Stevenage and lost on the road at Tranmere.
Earlier in the season it was difficult to see County slipping out of the top three places in Sky Bet League Two, but now sitting eighth, they will have a hard time to get back into the automatic promotion spaces with the remaining games.
Six points behind Forest Green Rovers, who occupy third place, Michael Flynn's side lost in their most recent game to another promotion rival. Tranmere Rovers didn't move up any places with their 1-0 win, but they did put the pressure on the top three, while Newport slipped out of the top seven for the first time this season.
Speaking after the game, County boss Michael Flynn wants more from his players if they are going to achieve promotion.
"We need a little bit more if we want to do anything." - Michael Flynn
"We didn't lose the game because of a referee decision, we lost because of our quality in the final third with cross and shot decision making and being too cavalier at the start of the game, which they were told not to.
"At the minute it's hard to deal with because there are games that we should have won but have lost. It's frustrating. We want to go and win a couple of games in a row and the longer we leave it, the harder it's going to get."
Flynn had four separate spells with Newport as a player, and had been manager at Rodney Parade since 2017. In his time with the Welsh side, they have taken on a number of bigger clubs in the FA Cup including Tottenham, Manchester City and Leicester City, as well as making the League Two play-off final in 2019.
Despite losing out to Tranmere Rovers in the final of 2019, the ambition of County has been to make a return to the third tier of English football, in what will be the first time since 1987.
The spine of the team that lost out in the play-off final two years ago is still at Rodney Parade, with five of the players involved in the Wembley loss still regulars in the team. But Flynn's side had been adding to their already strong squad in January to boost their promotion hopes.
Forward Nicky Maynard arrived at Rodney Parade on loan until the end of the season from Mansfield Town, but has struggled to make the desired impact. Scoring the winning goal on his debut, Maynard began well with the Exiles, but in the six games since he hasn't found the back of the net.
Joint top scorer and strike partner to Maynard, Padraig Amond has also struggled with goals recently. He found the net against Grimsby Town early in December but, sixteen games have passed since the Irish forward scored.
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