JUSTIN Edinburgh wants the effort of his players in the past six days to represent the benchmark for the season.

The Exiles followed up a highly impressive performance if not result in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Cambridge with a 3-2 win over Northampton yesterday.

County were 3-0 ahead with 15 minutes remaining and despite only winning by a goal, were worthy victors against an in-form side.

Newport are now closer to the play-offs than the relegation places in terms of points in a typically congested League Two and Edinburgh wants much more of what he’s witnessed this week, County now unbeaten in four.

“This week has set a benchmark certainly, we were slow starting this season but we’ve kept improving and the results have come as we believed they would," he said.

“We have two tough away games now and we need to get some more points.”

Edinburgh was very happy with the performance of his side for 75 minutes against the Cobblers.

“For a long period we were the team who controlled the game and were worthy of our lead, but in terms of the last 15 minutes we became complacent and goals change games,” he said.

“Northampton had nothing to lose and threw bodies into the box and in the end we’ve had to hang on and see the game out which took the gloss off of things a bit.

“But we’ve recorded our first home victory, scored three goals and I thought for good periods of the game we picked up from where we left off on Monday night. I’m a pleased manager but disappointed in the goals we conceded.

“This is a big boost for us confidence wise.

“To put the top level of performance in for 90 minutes isn’t always possible, we didn’t want to waste Monday’s performance and we didn’t because for an hour or more we were very good again.”

Edinburgh was delighted by arguably County’s scrappiest goal, their first, with striker Chris Zebroski bundling home after a catalogue of errors inside the Northampton penalty area by both sides, Darren Jones and Lee Minshull also on target for County.

“I was thrilled to see a scrappy goal for a striker of course,” he said. “We need and have needed those type of goals.

“One just bouncing off people and going in is what we’ve wanted and we could’ve had more goals from the strikers because Joe Pigott has come on and had a couple of opportunities to score.

“We are delighted with his acquisition to the squad; we have very good competition all over the park now and will need it as the games come thick and fast.”

Cobblers manager Chris Wilder credited the Exiles and admitted they were worthy winners.

“We didn't deserve to get anything from the game,” he said.

“It would have been a totally unjust result even though we had them rocking for the last 15 minutes.

“They were the far better side for two thirds of the contest and deservedly got the points.

“You have to earn the right to play by winning those first and second balls which they won a lot more of.

“We tried to change our personnel at half-time, we showed good character after conceding the third goal and could have snatched an equaliser but we wouldn't have deserved it.”