NEWPORT County chairman Les Scadding has paid tribute to manager Justin Edinburgh on his third anniversary in charge of the Exiles, writes Michael Pearlman.

County’s lottery winning chairman remains a true rarity in English football, a leader of a club who haven’t sacked, nor even thought about sacking, their manager.

The fact that Edinburgh’s three years in charge makes him one of the dozen longest serving managers in English football speaks volumes for the way the industry has gone, but Scadding believes the Exiles are reaping the benefits of having a manager who they fully believe in.

“It is the three year anniversary for Justin on Saturday and I believe that is a wonderful achievement,” he said.

“It would be lovely if we could mark the game with Oxford with a win and hit the top ten of League Two as a celebration, but win, lose or draw, we are proud of Justin and what he has achieved.

“It’s a lovely feeling for us that we can basically give him the keys to the kingdom, because we trust his judgement and we trust him to do what he thinks is right for the football club.”

Scadding insists Newport never even discussed Edinburgh’s future despite a horror run last term that saw them slip from promotion candidates to closely avoiding a relegation battle.

“In football, clubs go too fast, they want to walk before they can run and if they have on miss-step, they want to sack somebody,” he said.

“We don’t want to run like that, we believe in Justin and that doesn’t change just because you have a bad patch.

“I don’t want it to sound like we never have disagreements, because we do, but I know he has my back and visa versa.”

Scadding also admits he finds Edinburgh’s approach to spending money refreshing.

“Everyone knows I am a lottery winner and at times, like when we signed Christian Jolley, maybe some people wanted to get every penny they could.

“But Justin doesn’t ever push me to spend more money, if anything he’s the opposite, he treats it like he’s spending his own cash because what matters to him is doing right by the club.”