IT IS INEVITABLE with Newport County AFC bottom of League Two and without a win this season that some fans are calling for the head of manager Terry Butcher.

It is inevitable, but it is wrong, at this time, and without merit, if you really think about it.

Because a week ago, few were saying it was the right course of action to sack a manager only appointed this summer, nor a fortnight ago.

And yet, it would have been more justified to cry “Sack Butcher,” online or at Rodney Parade, seven or 14 days ago.

Newport were distinctly second best at Plymouth and I utterly disagree with Butcher’s assessment of the Exiles’ 3-0 defeat to York City.

He felt County were a match for the Minstermen but for defensive lapses; I think that’s an extremely generous assessment.

To call for Butcher’s head after those two displays, though early in the season, would have at least been backed up by performance, rather than just disappointment at results generally.

But there is no way to paint Saturday’s 2-1 reverse to Morecambe as being a display that indicated the manager should be sacked. It met no criteria whatsoever.

Were County shambolic, badly organised, or did they even perform badly? An emphatic no.

Did the players lack for energy, or enthusiasm? Did they seem like they weren’t giving all they could give for a manager now under pressure? Again, certainly not.

It’s imperative to consider the circumstances surrounding County at the moment, before making any rash decisions when there are still 35 games remaining. With 105 points to fight for, I think talk of Newport being “adrift,” is frankly potty.

The club is in a mess off the field, facing an uncertain future and paying the price for overspending and an over reliance on a chairman whose generosity has done the club no long term favours.

However, that has also translated on the field, because in a need to cut their cloth, Newport’s budget for player wages has been decimated.

You’d think this point wouldn’t need to be stated again, but clearly it is, because incredulously, I’m still hearing fans opining that Butcher released too many players this summer.

How many more ways can this be stated? Butcher had NO CHOICE when it came to player retention. His hands were tied entirely by County’s new wage limit.

We’ve seen enough of Butcher’s County to realise that players like Lee Minshull, Aaron O’Connor and Robbie Willmott would have fitted in very nicely, but those players simply earned too much money to remain at Rodney Parade.

It’s also worth remembering Butcher also wanted to build his defence around Darren Jones, would have retained the passing ability of Adam Chapman and also wanted to keep Ryan Jackson, all of whom left of their own accord, for various reasons.

We are left with an entirely new squad, put together on a shoe string budget compared to last season, yet most of Newport’s permanent acquisitions are looking encouraging.

The same can’t be said of Newport’s loanees, and Butcher’s use of the loan market is very likely to be decisive, as regards whether he can turn around County’s tricky start to the season.

If Newport beat fellow strugglers Dagenham and Carlisle, the Butcher out cries will be as rare as Slade out shouts on Ninian Park Road these days. If the results go the other way, and performances aren’t good, there will be much pressure on Butcher, increasing in volume.

But that’s a discussion for October and beyond, when hopefully the Supporters’ Trust are in control of the club and it becomes about the fans, with bridges being built and fences meant with ostracized and influential supporters, some of whom have deeper pockets than your average punter.

In the meantime, Newport face crucial games and the best course of action is to give Butcher and his boys full support, as morale will have taken a battering due to the nature of Saturday’s defeat. It’s the kind of kick in the nuts that can break spirits.

It’s a real test for Butcher to lift players he himself described as “devastated.”

But I think County’s manager has probably earned a bit of patience and good grace.

He took over a club with a lottery winning chairman, on record as not being “a jump ship guy,” and though he knew his budget would be cut, assurances had been made that all was rosy and stable off the field.

That was nonsense, as we now know, and Butcher has had to deal with enough drama at the club already to think he’s stepped into a total mad house.

He needs to utilise the loan market, he badly needs a win, nothing he doesn’t already know.

But in the short-term, he needs your backing too.