NEWPORT County AFC take a break from League Two action to focus on cup clashes over the next week but, despite their perilous position in the table, this is not a time to take their eye off the ball.

Saturday’s terrific win at Accrington Stanley was a welcome relief after a testing few months.

The Exiles remain bottom and are still five points from safety but the result and the performance offered the long-suffering supporters (and this long-suffering reporter) hope that this might not be one long season of struggle.

Graham Westley has clearly made a big difference already and Saturday saw his team produce a highly organised defensive display and a ruthlessly efficient counter-attacking unit was too good for play-off hopefuls Stanley.

If they can replicate that on a regular basis on the road and somehow sort out the woeful home form then there is definite cause for optimism.

But, while the fight to stay in the Football League is clearly the main priority, that is no reason whatsoever to dismiss the FA Cup to ‘focus on the league.’

It should sadden all football fans to see clubs and managers view the world’s oldest and best cup competition as a distraction.

And, quite apart from the ‘romance of the cup’ argument, there is also the economic factor – vital for a club of County’s stature.

Sunday’s trip to National League North outfit Alfreton Town will earn the Exiles £12,500 in TV money from the BBC.

A win will guarantee another £18,000 in prize money and put County one step closer to a potentially life-changing clash with Manchester United or another Premier League giant in the third round.

Thankfully Westley is a manager who knows all about the magic of the cup and he’ll be determined to see off Alfreton at the first attempt on Sunday afternoon.

In 2003 he guided Farnborough to the fourth round, beating Southport and Darlington on the way to a dream clash with then Premier League champions and FA Cup holders Arsenal at Highbury.

The non-league minnows lost 5-1 but the publicity launched Westley’s managerial career and earned him a crack at the Stevenage job.

In 2011 he was back in the fourth round in his second spell with Stevenage after masterminding a famous 3-1 win over Newcastle United in round three.

Afterwards he explained to the media how he’d told his League Two side to beat their top flight opponents 5-0.

"We established that if we did just 20 per cent of what it would take to win 5-0 we'd still win the game," said Westley, whose side ran out 3-1 winners at Broadhall Way.

"Three wasn't five but it was a decent result.

“You only ever win by being positive," added Westley. "We played to our strengths and their weaknesses.

"The top players are not infallible, they all have their weaknesses and winning is about exposing their weaknesses and playing to your strengths and we did that."

And earlier this year he was at it again as his Peterborough United team beat his old club Preston North End in the third round before holding West Bromwich Albion to a 2-2 draw at the Hawthorns in the fourth round and only losing the replay on penalties.

After Jon Taylor had hooked in Peterborough’s second equaliser to take the tie back to London Road, Westley revealed how boxer Buster Douglas and the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Revenant had helped inspire his side.

Westley said: “The film was about a guy who was almost on his deathbed but found motivation and a driving force.

“We were talking about Buster Douglas and him getting knocked down by Mike Tyson (in the 1990 world heavyweight championship fight) but somehow finding it within himself to get back up and go again.

“His mother had died days before the fight and said on her deathbed to go out and beat Tyson.

“Nobody would believe Douglas was going to do Tyson, but he knocked him out. Resilience is a learned trait, no question, and we showed a lot of that.”

It’s safe to say that Westley will not let his County side go easy on Sunday afternoon and, as last year’s run to the third round showed, success in the cups can go hand in hand with positive results in the league.

The Exiles have had little joy in the Checkatrade Trophy so far this season – losing 4-1 at Plymouth Argyle and 2-1 at home to a Swansea City academy side to ensure they cannot progress beyond the group stages.

The revamped competition has proved about as popular as Donald Trump at a WI meeting and most fans will not be sad to see the back of it for another season.

But the bottom line is that there is £10,000 on offer for the winner of each tie and £5,000 for a draw and County can’t afford to turn up their nose at that.

Victory over AFC Wimbledon next Tuesday would also be a first win at Rodney Parade in any competition since March 5 and it’s high time that the home fans went home happy – no matter how many are there.