NEWPORT County AFC will be captained by Mark Byrne as they kick-off their League Two campaign at Cambridge United on Saturday.

The 26-year-old midfielder, who arrived at Rodney Parade just over a year ago after leaving Barnet, will take over from last season’s skippers Andy Sandell and Darren Jones.

Sandell and Jones left the club in the summer, along with 13 teammates, and diminutive Dubliner Byrne was one of only four senior players to be retained.

And, with experienced defender Matt Taylor an injury doubt for the weekend, manager Terry Butcher says it was an easy decision to make.

“Mark is very well respected,” said the Exiles boss. “The players can’t look up to him physically because he’s not that big but they look up to him in terms of how he plays and what he does on the pitch and around the training ground as well.

“He’s everywhere on the pitch – the work rate he gets through is enormous, as it is for all the players.

“There are quite a few players who could be captains but Mark is quite vocal on the pitch and he inspires people because of his work rate and his energy. I’ve been really impressed with him.”

Butcher and his staff are still working to bring in one more signing before the weekend but the manager says he won’t be afraid to play youngsters like Aaron Collins, Kieran Parselle and Lewis Bamford if he needs to.

“The squad is too thin,” he said. “We know it’s not big enough but we’ll just have to manage it and see how we get on.

“We need another couple more we know that but we will have the young players to fill the bench on Saturday.

“And you never know – you look at Kieran against QPR and Lewi at Torquay – it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that they could start.

“I’ve got my team in mind and I think I know what I’m going to do but there are still a couple of days to work at it.

“And if we get someone else in between now and Saturday then there is a lot of work to do in terms of gelling.

“But this is a great group of players to come into for any new signing – this is a really tight and nicely mannered group.

“There’s no stupidity there, there’s no big-headed players – they’re intelligent and they’re good guys who they really want to do well.”