NEWPORT County manager Justin Edinburgh insists the future is bright for his side with home-grown youngsters Lee Evans and Andrew Hughes excelling at Wembley.

The Exiles boss couldn’t hide his frustration after watching his side go down to a 2-0 defeat to York City in Saturday’s FA Trophy final but he is predicting big things for next season after steering them away from relegation this term.

“I take satisfaction in the job I’ve done this season and I feel pride in what we’ve achieved,” said Edinburgh.

“The club was only going in one direction when I arrived but we’ve survived and made it to Wembley.

“The budget was spent before I arrived and it’s difficult to move players on.

“But the club have backed me and we’ll sit down and discuss the budget next week. It’s a big summer ahead.”

Edinburgh heaped praise on the two youngest members of his squad – 19-year-old defender Hughes and 17-year-old midfielder Evans.

“Lee Evans was immense for a 17-year-old boy. He was calm and collected and showed what a great future he has,” said the ex-Tottenham defender.

“He was one of our best players and I think he has been in every game he’s played.

“Andrew Hughes was superb as well and has played 40-odd games this season. That’s a credit to the youth set-up here and that will continue.

“We try to develop young players at this club but we can only do that if they’re good enough, and certainly the two that played have the qualities to succeed.”

Both players will be central to Edinburgh’s planning for next season if he can keep hold of them and he insisted that the County fans can look forward to happier times after a season of more lows than highs.

“The fans have been outstanding. They’ve made it easy for us under difficult circumstances,” he said.

“Unfortunately we didn’t send them home happy but I think they’ll be proud of what they saw.

“We’ll be striving to make sure we’re a better team next season. The league is the most important thing for us.”

Edinburgh is still angry about the red tape that meant he couldn’t play first-choice goalkeeper Karl Darlow, but he admitted that a lack of a cutting edge cost his side in the end.

“I think it sums up my time since I’ve been here. We haven’t been clinical enough when we’ve had the opportunities,” he added.

“Romone Rose’s one-on-one was crucial. Goals change games and it took the stuffing out of us when they went 1-0 up.

“It’s not right that the FA denied Karl Darlow the opportunity to play at Wembley but I don’t think it affected the result. Glyn Thompson came in and he did well.”