IT’S a massive couple of weeks coming up for Newport County and we will have a good idea of where we are following the next three league fixtures.

The away trip to Stevenage who are about as direct a rival for the play-offs as you can find is followed by back-to-back home games, against our rivals Cheltenham Town and then against Luton, with hopefully two bumper crowds ready to roar us on.

There is no shying away from the fact that this is a season defining time, we are into the final stretch now and I know Dacky is setting a target of winning six or seven more games this season.

It’s a tough ask for a side who can’t buy a goal at home at the moment, but we are all fully confident that we can change our form at Rodney Parade by working hard and doing the right things.

For my money, the defeat to Mansfield was a lot more unlucky than the one to Morecambe. If Chappers’ (Adam Chapman’s) shot goes in instead of coming out off the underside of the crossbar, I have no doubts at all that we would have gone on to win the contest.

However, it just isn’t going for us at home at the moment and it is vial we maintain our strong away form.

I wasn’t at the Burton game last weekend due to my youth team commitments and the fact I’m not currently being selected!

But I followed along with the game on the Argus on County twitter account which was excellent, to be fair and as painful as it is for me to credit Pearlman or Penman I have to do so.

I can’t pretend to be happy that I’m not currently getting close to starting for the first team, because as I’ve told the gaffer, I still think I’ve got plenty to offer. There is life in the old dog yet.

However, this wonderful sport of ours has always been a team game and it is important for me as one of the senior players to set a good example on how to handle disappointment.

I’ve spoken to the gaffer who has explained why I’m not currently in the side and I have to accept the fact and ensure I’m as fit as I can be for when my chance does arrive.

There are still 12 games to go and with the boss currently playing four in midfield, my chance could well come before the end of the season and I need to be ready to take it.

It would be entirely disingenuous of me to pretend I’m not frustrated being out on the sidelines, but we have to back the manager, selection is at his discretion at the end of the day.

All of our midfield players give 100% and work really hard and I have no divine right to play, I know that.

There is still a good belief among the group despite our setbacks at home. So far the results are going for us, because we’ve lost three home games recently and yet we are still staying in the play-off mix.

If we can get another good result on the road on Saturday, it will put us in good heart ahead of the Cheltenham game and I honestly think that if we score first in that one, we could go on and win it convincingly. We just need that break.

I’ll be focusing on the youth boys this weekend who play Cambridge United ahead of what is a huge match for us on Tuesday night against the Cardiff City youth team at Jenner Park.

It is the semi-final of the Welsh Youth Cup and just playing against Cardiff should be enough to motivate the boys.

We’ve watched a DVD of Cardiff and I have no doubts whatsoever that if we are at our best, we can cause the upset and win the game.

All we want from the players is for them to be like our fans, hungry and hard working. If we get that from them, success will certainly come as well, because they are a talented bunch.