TWO-GOAL hero Mike Flynn says Saturday’s 2-0 win at Portsmouth shows Newport County AFC are genuine promotion contenders.

The midfield veteran was the only member of the starting XI who was born the last time County visited Fratton Park in September 1982.

And the 33-year-old, who had not scored since November 2012, netted twice in three minutes midway through the second half to seal three points for his side.

Flynn is convinced that the result, which lifts County to fourth in League Two, is evidence that they can clinch a second successive promotion.

“We’d lost two in a row and that hasn’t happened too often since the gaffer’s been here so we wanted to put an end to that run and we did that,” he said.

“We could have easily rolled over here and used the big crowd and the new manager as an excuse but we’re not like that and the gaffer would never have let us do that.

“We’re a tough unit and we’ve shown again that teams will have to work hard to beat us.

“Nobody fancied us at the start of the season but I don’t think we’re under the radar now,” he added. “People will have looked at us now and they’ll know they’re in for a game against Newport County.”

Saturday’s match was Flynn’s first start in the league since the 3-0 defeat at Rochdale on October 12 and he was delighted to take his chance to impress.

“I haven’t scored for a year so it’s been a long time coming,” he said.

“I have been playing more defensively as I’ve got older, doing a job for the team, and I don’t mind that because it’s not about Michael Flynn it’s about three points.

“I’ve been around long enough and the gaffer knows what I can do,” he added.

“When I’ve played I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve come on in the last few games and done alright and the gaffer obviously wanted to use my experience for this one.

“Thankfully we won and on a personal front I’m buzzing after getting two goals.”

Just as he had in the build-up to Saturday, Edinburgh again declined to speak to the media after the match.

But first team coach Wayne Hatswell said: “It was a tough place to come and the boys have been absolutely superb.

“We’ve had some good performances on the road and probably not got what we’ve deserved but it sets us up nicely for Christmas and give the lads a bit of confidence after back-to-back defeats in the cups.”

Hatswell said that striker Conor Washington should be fit for next week’s home match with AFC Wimbledon despite being forced off with concussion against Pompey.