NEWPORT County striker Jake Reid admits he is playing for his future between now and the end of the season.

The 24-year-old, who scored after just 11 seconds against Kidderminster Harriers on Monday, is determined to fire County to safety in the Blue Square Bet Premier.

That goal was his first for the Exiles since he arrived from Salisbury City in January and Reid knows that he needs to impress manager Justin Edinburgh in order to earn a contract for next season.

He is cup-tied for the FA Trophy final against York City at Wembley on May 12 so the striker has just five remaining league games to catch the eye, starting at York tomorrow afternoon.

“I’ve had to wait for my time but I’ve been keeping fit,” said Reid.

“That is what it is like at this club – if other people are doing the business you have to wait for your chance and thankfully I took it when it came.

“I was happy to get the goal. It was a bit of a gift after 11 seconds but ultimately it didn’t count for anything,” he added, referring to County’s inexplicable capitulation from 2-0 up to lose 3-2 at the death.

“I don’t know how that happened,” he admitted.

“We were maybe a bit tired, a bit leggy, but we just have to learn from the experience and bounce back on Saturday.

“We are all hurting after that because we know we should have seen the game out but it was just one of those things.”

Reid is a former Yeovil Town trainee who went on to star for Team Bath while studying for a foundation degree in sport (sports performance) at the University of Bath.

Having made the step up from Salisbury this year he is determined to remain at Spytty Park beyond the end of this season.

“I think we need one more win to effectively be safe,” he said.

“We’re going to York full of confidence because we beat them last week and we want to send them another message ahead of the final at Wembley.

“They are a good team pushing for promotion but we want to show that we are a good team as well and we can beat them three times this season “But, more importantly, we want to secure our safety as soon as possible.

“Once we’ve done that we can start to build for next season,” he added.

“The team spirit is great here and I think next year could be a big one for this club.

“I definitely want to be a part of that.

“I’m out of contract at the end of the season and I want to get a run in the side now to show people what I can do because this club is 100% moving in the right direction.”