NEWPORT County AFC return to the green, green grass of home tomorrow aiming to put last week’s Morecambe misery to bed and extend their unbeaten Rodney Parade run to nine games.

Manager Michael Flynn and his players suffered a disapointing defeat at the Globe Arena but it is now six months since County were beaten in their own back yard.

Blackpool, who went on to win promotion via the play-offs, were the last away team to win at Rodney Parade in Flynn’s first home match in charge on March 18.

And the Exiles boss is proud of that record and keen to preserve it when Russell Slade’s Grimsby Town come to town tomorrow afternoon.

“Everybody is talking about us making Rodney Parade a fortress and we’ve only lost one in nine games at home under me,” said Flynn.

“That was against Blackpool, who are now in League One, and we could have got something out of that game.

“We’ve got a very good record here and I hope we keep winning.

“The law of averages says we’re going to come unstuck at some point but I just hope that we keep making it a tough place for opposition teams to come.

“And with the new pitch we want to keep entertaining the fans because with the pitch the way it was over the last few years I think they deserve a little bit of entertainment as well.

“I just hope it’s not 4-3 every week because it will be no good for my nerves!”

Demetriou says the new £750,000 pitch has been a major boost but he’s not getting carried away.

“I don’t think we can call it a fortress just yet,” said the centre-back.

“We haven’t gone on the big run that I think teams need to be able to call it a fortress.

“But the pitch is playing a massive part this year. It’s playing really well, even against Cheltenham when it chucked it down with rain.

“I was quite surprised by that so obviously it’s money well spent at the moment.

“Thankfully for us we’ve got a nice pitch to play on and hopefully the weather is kind and we can give the fans something to cheer about again.

“Last year we weren’t able to pass the ball well – there was always the risk that the ball was going to get stuck in the mud or the sand last year.

“At the moment this year we haven’t got that [worry] so we can take what we do on the training pitch into a match day.”

Flynn was highly critical of his players after last week’s 2-1 defeat at Morecambe but he’s confident that they can bounce back with a win this weekend.

“There are going to be inconsistencies in League Two and I’m just looking forward to the reaction I get from the players,” he said.

“If we win we can go up to third or fourth and I’m always a glass half full person – I’ll always look up.”