TEENAGE star Regan Poole could play his last game for Newport County AFC tomorrow and fellow defender Darren Jones has backed the 16-year-old to go all the way to the top.

Poole is expected to start alongside Jones and Ismail Yakubu at Cambridge United but it could be his seventh and final appearance for the club.

His move to Championship club Fulham is close to completion and Jones is certain that the youngster will be a success at a higher level in time.

“Everyone is forgetting that he’s only 16,” said 31-year-old Jones.

“People look at him and think he must be 18, 19 or 20 but he’s 16 and it’s frightening that a young kid can step into the first team.

“He hasn’t trained with us much so for him to perform and not look out of place tells me he’s got a great future.

“He’s playing in League Two at 16, one of the toughest leagues to play in because of the physical side of it.

“And defenders don’t really peak until they’re 28 or 30 so he’s got another 12 years ahead of him to learn his trade.

“He’s got the lot and he’s so calm on the ball; I’m sure he’ll go on to big things.”

Jones does admit, however, that he and 29-year-old Yakubu have helped Poole through recent wins over Plymouth Argyle, Cheltenham Town, Carlisle United and Portsmouth.

“He’s still a young lad and he needs talking to but playing the four or five games has done him the world of good,” he said.

“As a defender you need other people around you to keep talking because it is the last line of defence.

“It would be good if we could keep him for the next month because we are light on defenders and he’s been playing great.

“I’m not sure if he’s signed [for Fulham] yet but we wish him all the best whatever happens.”

Jones says the team is full of confidence after winning seven of their last eight games and he hopes the Cambridge players may be distracted by next week’s FA Cup clash with Manchester United.

“We are all feeling very positive and we’re looking forward to going to Cambridge and keeping that run going,” he added.

“We’ve been doing really well. We’re solid and hard to beat now but we won’t get carried away because there are still 21 games left so you could theoretically still finish in the bottom half.

“We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and that is working hard. I think that’s the main reason why we’re getting success.

“And hopefully they’ll have the Manchester United game on their minds and we’ll take advantage.”