THE person behind the malicious phone call to Newport County manager John Cornforth has not even attended a match since the new boss took charge, the Argus can reveal.

The club know the identity of the individual and are close to taking action and sources at the club say that he is not a regular Newport County supporter and that the call was traced to Nottingham, 150 miles away.

The club investigation is ongoing but meanwhile former fans' chief Rob Santwris has reacted to the club's criticism of supporters, saying that the highlighted incidents only detracted from the real problems that County have on the pitch.

The ex-Amber Army man, who is also the licensee for the social club, Baramber, said: "The club has been quick to criticise fans but you can't account for individuals and tar everyone with the same brush.

"There have been some incidents that cannot be condoned but Newport County supporters are among the best and most committed in the county and a lot of what has happened is the result of the rubbish that we are having to put up with on the pitch.

"I have a lot of respect for the board and appreciate what they are doing but some of the comments about fans in recent weeks has upset a lot of supporters and I would rather they focused on the positive things."

He added: "Players and managers come and go for a season or so but fans are for life and are the bread and butter of the club.

"A lot of supporters put in so much time, effort and a substantial amount of money into the club, while it is the players and management who take money out and get paid to perform, which they are not doing at the moment.

"I think that attacking the fans only takes focus away from the real issues about what is happening on the pitch and the mess we are in."

Santwris was also a victim of abuse along with supporter-director Colin Everett when they tried to appeal to a section of the supporters who were throwing stones onto the pitch in the FA Cup defeat at Tiverton, but he insists that the majority of County fans are a credit to the club.

Santwris, who was the driving force behind the club's link-up with Newport band Goldie Lookin' Chain, said: "I was involved with Colin at Tiverton, where most of the support was superb, but that type of behaviour doesn't help the club although it was only a handful of individuals.

"We have got the Amber Army and 200 Club who have ploughed in loads of their own money and raised tens of thousands of pounds to get the social club up and running.

"I just hope there can be an end to the bitching between the club and supporters because if it doesn't, the club could implode.

"Saturday's attendance (against Redbridge) was our lowest turnout on a Saturday, so it is important that everyone gets behind the club if we want to take things forward."