NEWPORT County AFC goalkeeper Alan Julian admits he was disappointed with his part in defeat to Hyde and he can’t wait to put things right at Welling.

Julian had a competitive debut to forget last Saturday, conceding three goals in a surprise loss to the Blue Square Bet Premier strugglers at Rodney Parade.

That was County’s third defeat in four games with Julian proving no luckier than Lenny Pidgeley – the man he replaced in goal.

The former Stevenage stopper is not hiding from the fact that he was below par but he believes today’s FA Trophy tie is the ideal opportunity for the Exiles to put their poor league form behind them.

“Obviously it was a disappointing start but we’ve got a lot of strong characters in this dressing room and we’ve shown before we can bounce back,” said the 29-year-old.

“All teams have blips and results suggest we’ve had one but I think we’re playing well and we just need to cut out a few errors, myself included.

“Personally I was disappointed to let in three goals. I always want to keep a clean sheet because that’s like scoring a goal for a goalkeeper.

“It wasn’t a great start for me but we’re all looking forward to putting that right at Welling.”

Julian was disappointed to hear boos at the final whistle last Saturday but accepts that fans have the right to express their frustrations.

“If they pay their money to get in they’re entitled to their opinion,” he said.

“It hurts us as much as it hurts them and we’re trying our best to get back on the right track.”

The Trophy is a special competition for County having made it to the final at Wembley last year where they were edged out by York City.

Julian went one better with Stevenage in 2007 when they became the first team to win a trophy at the new Wembley with victory over Kidderminster Harriers.

“I’ve got great memories of this tournament and to see the support that the club took down there for the final last year was phenomenal,” said Julian.

“It’s a great day out for everyone and we all want to experience that again if we can, the manager has made that clear, but no games are easy, the Yate game proved that, and we want to avoid another result like that.”

Boss Justin Edinburgh has options in defence with Ismail Yakubu back from suspension and Byron Anthony also available to make his debut but Andrew Hughes (ankle) is doubtful.

* County’s home fixture against Wrexham, originally scheduled for Saturday, January 5, has been brought forward to Friday, January 4 (kick-off 7.45pm).

And the match at Luton, scheduled for Saturday, February 16, has also been brought forward to Friday, February 15 (kick-off 7.45pm).

Both matches will be shown live on Premier Sports TV.