LENNY Pidgeley has been backed to fill the void left by loan star Joe Day as Newport County AFC head to Carlisle United today.

County make the long trip north this afternoon and stay overnight ahead of tomorrow’s League Two clash at Brunton Park – their first match since Day returned to Peterborough United.

Manager Justin Edinburgh is in talks to secure Day’s return to Rodney Parade in January and has not revealed whether Pidgeley or Jamie Stephens will start tomorrow.

Captain Andy Sandell says Day, who was on the losing side in just one of his 14 league games for the Exiles, will be missed but he’s in no doubt that Pidgeley is up to the job of replacing him.

“Joe going is a massive loss because he’s been a big presence behind us and he just makes everyone feel safe,” said Sandell.

“Sometimes you’d think the opposition might as well shoot because he’d save it anyway.

“But he’s gone now and Lenny will come in for Saturday.

“He’s proved over the years what a good keeper he is and he’ll be confident and hopefully keep a clean sheet for us.

“In training we’ve all been building up his confidence,” he added. “Every time he makes a save we’ve been telling him and gathering round him.

“He’s a confident lad anyway and he’s got all the attributes to be a top keeper and I’m sure he’ll show that again this weekend.”

Sandell believes that last Saturday’s 3-1 win at Bury shows the progress the side have made over recent months.

The Exiles are just two points off the play-offs but the skipper is not getting carried away after the team’s poor showing in the second half of last season.

“We’ve been in this type of position before and last season we didn’t win too many games after Christmas so that’s got to be a concern,” said Sandell.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a decent Christmas here. Even in the Conference days we had a bit of a wobble so hopefully it will be a little bit different.

“But we showed great character at Bury. It’s a tough place to go and to play how well we did showed that even on our travels now we’re very difficult to beat.

“It shows how far we’ve come and how good we could be.

“Carlisle will be no different for us in terms of preparation. We want to keep it tight for the first 20 minutes and if we get a goal we know we are tough to beat at the moment.”