EMERGENCY loan signing Kevin Feely says he had no doubts about joining Newport County AFC after a glowing report on the Exiles from good friend Michael Smith, writes Andrew Penman.

Irish under-21 centre-back Feely arrived from Charlton Athletic yesterday, following the same path as striker Smith did last season.

The pair played together in the Addicks youth set-up and were also teammates during Feely’s loan spell at AFC Wimbledon earlier this season.

And Feely says Smith’s insight into life under Justin Edinburgh convinced his that Rodney Parade was the place for him to finish the season.

“Michael Smith is a good friend of mine and he was here last season and I heard a lot of good reports about the club,” said the 21-year-old.

“He told me that they were a great bunch of lads and from what I’ve seen I have no doubt we’ll turn things round.

“I spoke to him about the move and he said don’t hesitate because he loved his time here and as long as I give Newport everything and help them out then they’ll help me out as well.

“To be fair, I couldn’t really afford to hesitate because I was having to trial elsewhere to get a loan and the fact that Newport showed such a keen interest meant I was really happy to come here.”

Feely admits that the past few days have been something of a whirlwind but he’s ready to play at Torquay today if needed.

“It was a bit rushed to be honest with you,” he said.

“I was training with Wycombe on Thursday and looking to get a loan move there when I got a call.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to get some games,” he added.

“I’m at an age now where a lot of people my age have a fair few games under their belt and that’s what counts when it comes to teams coming in for you.

“Having not played at Charlton and been a bit unlucky with injuries on loan I just need to play.

“It’s lucky that there are so many games coming up because I need to impress the guys at Charlton as well as other clubs if it doesn’t work out at Charlton.

“My contract is up at the end of the season so I want to have as many options as possible come the summer.”