MICHAEL Flynn insists his Newport County AFC players have reacted in the right way after he was highly critical of their display in last week’s defeat at Morecambe.

Flynn described his team’s performance as “spineless” and “gutless” after the 2-1 loss at the Globe Arena.

But he’s pleased with the response he’s got from the players in training this week and confident that they can bounce back with victory over Grimsby Town at Rodney Parade tomorrow.

“I’ve seen exactly what I expected to see,” said the Exiles boss.

“They have been back up to the standard that they should be at.

“Tuesday’s training session was probably the best we’ve had. The tenacity, the effort and the quality was really pleasing.

“And I knew I was going to get that, whether I had a rant or not, because I know that I’ve got a good bunch of players who won’t tolerate the standards that were set at Morecambe.

“They were disappointed as well and I’d be really worried if they weren’t.

“A couple have said in interviews that it wasn’t good enough and I had various messages over the weekend from players who had looked themselves in the mirror letting me know [that they’d been below-par].”

South Wales Argus:

Flynn was pictured after the final whistle last week in a heated discussion with a County fan (above) but he says the incident is now in the past.

“I accept criticism,” he said. “I can handle it. It’s part and parcel of football.

“I look in the mirror and criticise myself and that’s healthy because if you’ve got somebody saying you’re brilliant when you’re way off then there’s only one way you’re going to go because your standards won’t be high enough.

“Everybody gets criticised. You can be top of the table and winning every game 3-0 and some people will complain that you didn’t win 4-0.

“You can never make everybody happy but there is a way to do it.

“The fan has apologized and it was something and nothing.

“It was a disagreement at the final whistle but he’s apologised and it’s fine.”