ONE result does not a season make but it sure helps when you are battling relegation.

Every member of the ‘we are too good to go down’ brigade would surely have began to question such thinking but for County’s dramatic turnaround at Gateshead on Saturday.

A 2-1 reverse would’ve left County five points adrift of safety and with form as it has been, that’s less a gap and more of a chasm.

So many times this season Exiles fans have quite rightly pointed the finger at the players for exhibiting a lack of bravery, courage and the ability to roll up the sleeves and fight. Maybe they’ll be able to complain no longer?

Saturday’s win was the kind that creates belief and momentum and as trite as it sounds, it is imperative that County capitalise.

Call me a crazy, optimistic fool if you would like – and lord only knows how a Spurs fan could become such a thing – but this could still end up being a successful campaign for Newport County.

The key to that is obviously Conference survival and I know what you are thinking. How can staying up count as success in a season where we were being tipped for promotion?

Simple, because we all (and I am very much including myself in this) got carried away with the excellent progress made under Dean Holdsworth and should never have been talking about promotion like it was deserved or destined.

Getting out of this division the right way is going to be a long, hard slog for a club the size of Newport. They might have been a big fish in the Conference South, but no longer.

That was a different time under King Deano and even if Anthony Hudson had been a roaring success it would’ve been unfair to expect promotion with a relatively new squad.

It’s obviously a totally different situation now and Justin Edinburgh has no expectations on him other than to keep County up.

That is an interesting scenario because for the first time in living memory the Exiles are still going to be in a cup competition in February.

Not only that but they are in the last 16 of the FA Trophy with a home game against a side in the Ryman League. And in a competition where the best two sides eligible have already been knocked out.

Dare we dream? Newport County in a cup final at Wembley. A lovely thought.

Justin Edinburgh has thoroughly reshaped his squad and if Saturday is an indicator, slowly but surely he is helping the Exiles to rise again.

But what of his signings? For those keeping count he has now made three – David Pipe, Ryan Charles and Adam Chapman – who have all had associations in the past few years with the police and in the case of Pipe and Chapman, Her Majesty’s Prison.

I’ve already discussed Pipe’s situation both in this column and in extremely frank interviews with the player himself.

Chapman served a prison sentence after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving having admitted to texting at the wheel.

Some County fans seem to have declared that is beyond the pale and that a distinction should’ve been made and that Chapman is somehow a character undeserving of a second chance.

Predictably my reaction to that is what a load of nonsense.

The only people appropriate to much such a call are the judges who hand out sentences and the criminal justice system employees who enforce them.

Chapman made a mistake; a horrible and tragic mistake and he paid with a loss of liberty and now is free to continue his life.

Prison is supposed to be about punishment AND rehabilitation and I have no issue with County being a club that seemingly never looks to ignore someone because they have a criminal record.

David Pipe has already been a roaring success and just by mentioning the name Craig Hughes we should recall how well a gamble of this nature can pay off.

Once a person has served their time, don’t they deserve a chance to earn a living?

And finally… Hopefully by somewhat burying this here I can avoid predictable cat calling and accusations of not understanding the Welsh view on things like last time. But I must say it anyway.

I don’t care that Cardiff are in the League Cup final and it means absolutely nothing to the rest of Welsh football.

Don’t get me wrong, I have Cardiff supporting mates and an ever stronger desire to kick in my own television whenever I see Kenny Dalglish on the screen after his handling of the Luis Suarez affair.

I thoroughly hope that the Bluebirds can go one better than they did the last time they reached a cup final and I hope they win it.

But it doesn’t actually matter to me because I follow Newport County. Ditto fans of Swansea, Wrexham, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr or any League of Wales team.

This complete and utter myth, this totally fabricated and nonsensical babble about occasions such as this being ‘good for Welsh football’ is utter garbage.

Cardiff City getting to Wembley is good for Cardiff City.

Cardiff potentially getting into Europe and enjoying the financial benefits of that adventure would be good for Cardiff City and no-one else.

To not understand that is to not understand football supporters and their tribal nature.

Should Spurs or Arsenal fans be pleased if Chelsea win the FA Cup because it’ll be good for London?

If City do wrestle away United’s Premier League crown will the Old Trafford fans think ‘well at least it is good for Manchester’? Of course they won’t!

If Cardiff City win the Carling Cup then good for them. It’ll be a magnificent day for every Cardiff fan and I am sure many fans of the egg in Wales who don’t have strong football allegiances will want them to win. I do too.

But should Swansea or County die-hards? Of course not.

To suggest otherwise is absolutely insulting.

This isn’t a Welsh triumph it’s a Cardiff one and the consequences of a Wembley win will only affect the Bluebirds.