IT is incredibly refreshing to kick-off a Newport County column by lauding what the club are currently doing on the field.

While I feel last week was a mixed one for the club after they made a poor job of presenting the signing Joe Pigott, or rather, a poor job in properly reflecting what his arrival signifies, there can be no doubting County's match day performances are more than praise worthy.

It's a mighty big statement to make, but I'm struggling to remember better back-to-back performances in covering the club than the two I witnessed last week, at home to Cambridge and Northampton Town (for reference, I started when Peter Nicholas was manager).

The Exiles picked up four welcome points after a highly credible draw with Burton - unstoppable against EVERYONE else - and after they once again defied the big crowd and big occasion to triumph at Fratton Park.

However, the least impressive result by far, the draw with newly promoted Cambridge, was the watershed, the performance from Newport County that in truth I never expected to see.

It is no secret that I follow a Premier League side and the fact is, so do many of the people who watch the County and it goes without saying that there is a world of difference between the calibre of football in the top tier compared to the fourth, just as League Two is an incredible step up from the Southern League.

However, the consequence of that is that the further down the pyramid you go, the fewer sides you see playing football with a flourish, this being a results business, a physical league and all the other excuses we make for our clubs playing the long ball game.

You need to be far longer in the tooth than this admittedly greying reporter to remember the last time Newport County played football that could surprise you and impress you, but that's exactly what we saw last week.

Manager Justin Edinburgh rightly points to the Rodney Parade pitch as an explanation for County's direct tactics from January onwards, but even with a decent playing surface he's never hinted before at wanting to play really expansive, passing football. He plays percentages and exploits weaknesses because he's a winner and he wants to win.

It's almost like there is a belief in League Two that you can't have success playing with pace and pushing high and looking to build possession if you can't find the required space to force an opening, that it is too much to expect from fourth tier footballers. And the belief is manifested for non-league players.

However, in Adam Chapman, Mark Byrne and Robbie Willmott, the Exiles currently have a trio of technical players, all with the ability to hit pinpoint passes from five yards or fifty.

It is a nonsense to suggest you can't succeed in League Two playing an expansive game, Rochdale proved that last season and I'm surprised and delighted at how Newport performed against Cambridge in particular.

I've seen County play in thrilling games, I've seen County play in dreadful games, I've seen County score once, twice, thrice and all the way to six goals in a game and I've seen Newport County play at Wembley twice, I've seen them play in four different divisions and I've seen them play with eleven, ten and nine men.

But I've never seen Newport County play the kind of football that makes me forget I'm reporting and want to applaud the endeavour. I've never seen County players pick passes and start attacks before the rest of the ground has spotted the free man.

I don't know whether it will last, I don't know if Edinburgh is fully committed to County's new attacking philosophy if the results turn, but I do know that last week, watching the Exiles was an absolute pleasure. Long may it continue.

I wish I could leave it there and merely praise the Exiles for a superb transformation to a campaign still in its infancy - judge us after 12 games, Edinburgh always says - but the club really missed a trick with the signing of Joe Pigott.

With the budget at capacity, it seemed hugely unlikely Edinburgh would be able to cover for the loss of Rene Howe to a ruptured thigh, but County's fans answered a call.

I'm both surprised and thrilled that Howard Greenhaf reached out to every single supporter faction connected with the club and not surprised in the least that every one of them was happy to help.

There is a feeling behind the scenes at County that this is a step in the right direction of repairing some previously damaged relationships and I've got nothing but praise for the groups for collaborating their funds at the request of the club.

However, those contributors deserved more for their efforts than a four paragraph statement on Newport's official website at 3pm on a Thursday afternoon.

This was a rare thing in the football business, a genuine good news story where every single aspect to it reflects well on the club, its supporters and the ultimate result is a new player that should be good news for manager and players as well.

County should've been screaming about it from the roof tops and ensuring every group involved got the chance to step into the spotlight, but instead they completely underplayed it, to an almost satirical level being that they held a press conference two hours prior to announcing the news and never said a word.

Edinburgh straight batted questions about loan signings and no-one was briefed anything was potentially happening which is poor handling of great news.

The Argus remain the only media publication independent of the club to even reference how the Pigott signing was funded and that represents an opportunity missed.