LET'S review where we are with Newport County AFC, in terms of the past, present and future.

I could argue until I'm blue in the face over the way in which Terry Butcher's sacking was handled by Newport County's Supporters' Trust representatives - not to mention his appointment in the first place - but none of that should be misconstrued as a barb at John Sheridan. But we have to understand the past to properly evaluate the future.

This group currently in charge of the Exiles could serve for another 20 years and it is unlikely they will see a gamble pay off as handsomely as Sheridan is for them, a man who has made relegation seem a distant threat, whereas two months ago it seemed a cast-iron certainty.

Before waxing lyrical on Sheridan, it does seem entirely appropriate to reassess the Butcher sacking - along with his assistants Russell Osman and Steve Marsella.

For those who missed the news over the weekend, we now know the terms. The trio are due £75,000 payable in monthly instalments to two of over six months and payable over the course of a year to one of them.

The details have been revealed at a Supporters' Trust meeting, which seems appropriate, directly addressing the people who have paid to see the Trust takeover the club. I had been promised that the Argus would be told first, but after two columns on the issue, I think I'm now the Trust's least favourite member!

Nevertheless, it's worth remarking on a not insignificant sum, is it not? The Trust opted to make the sackings and promised to immediately make clear what the financial cost was (as I have previously referred to in this forum). Two months on and we finally know the trio are owed what amounts to a third of the total cost raised by supporters to take over the club.

The meeting was told Butcher, Osman and Marsella initially refused to budge on the terms of their contracts. This led to the League Managers Association issuing statutory demands against the club, and could have seen County required to pay off the trio in one fell swoop.

Board members told the meeting this could have put the club out of business.

So from the horses' mouth, by sacking Terry Butcher and his staff hours after taking control of the club, by their own admission, this decision could have put the club out of business.

Why weren't the Trust simply open in the first place? They couldn't disclose the figures involved because they weren't even close to reaching an agreement, they couldn't reveal the numbers, because the numbers didn't exist. The issue took months of negotiation and threatened the future of the club. Why not just say so?

A lot of criticism could have been avoided, simply with greater clarity.

Messrs Les Scadding and Howard Greenhaf made a big mistake in the candidate they chose and the fact they appointed him without having an industry expert like Jason Turner in situ to negotiate the terms. No wonder the contract was 'weighted towards the management' as the Trust have revealed it to be. Where were the break clauses? Where was the protection against a candidate who had a mixed track record.

The truth is, Butcher's appointment was a disaster, his sacking was handled badly and the whole episode is costing only County fans. However, at least the matter is now settled. It's our only millstone to the poor way the club has previously been run – the repayments to Mr Scadding and Greenhaf are less prohibitive and more evenly distributed over a longer period - and hopefully, now, we move on to a brighter new era.

Elections of course, for roles on the Newport County AFC board, are round the corner, just a month away from you, the fans, appointing people to run the club that you feel are best qualified. That's the dream ticket.

And in the meantime, few if any Newport fans would have anything negative to say about John Sheridan, nor his support staff of Warren Feeney and Michael Flynn. With time, resources, financial and otherwise and scope for big change all at a minimum, County look a squad transformed. Sheridan has worked wonders in an extremely short window of time and with a run of particularly difficult fixtures.

His signings have been excellent, the team looks organised and confident in their objectives. They look, at worst, a lower mid-table team and very often, far better than that.

The present, for County, is looking increasingly bright. The future can be whatever they make of it.

And an increasingly interesting issue is whether John Sheridan sees a future at the Exiles beyond the end of this season.

We know that isn't how this has been explained, with the smart money on Sheridan being here until the summer to keep County up, before seeking a job nearer Leeds, where he lives.

However, long-term managers have been proven to work at the Exiles without committing long-term to the area. In four years of managing County, Justin Edinburgh was based the entire time in Essex. Anthony Hudson and Terry Butcher, by contrast, both moved locally. I don't think it requires masses of debate as to which of the three managers proved most successful!

Sheridan has done a brilliant job at County and it should be months, not weeks, before the end of the campaign, when the club hierarchy discuss with him the issue of his future.

And if Sheridan opts to leave the club, time and planning can be put into place about identifying a successor.

Because as the Terry Butcher episode has proven, a club with County's resources can't afford to get it wrong when it comes to staff recruitment.

Hopefully, with elected and appointed people in charge of the club in 2016 (and the input of Jason Turner), such a mistake won't be made in the future.

Because thanks to John Sheridan, that future looks highly likely to continue being in the Football League.

An outcome that every fan can agree is what is best for the club going forward.