NEWPORT County AFC manager Terry Butcher says his side will be in much better shape for tomorrow’s pre-season friendly at Torquay United.

The Exiles boss blamed himself for Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at Bath City when his side looked lethargic and lacking in sharpness.

Butcher said an intensive training session on Monday affected the performance at Twerton Park and he’s expecting a much improved display tomorrow afternoon.

“I take responsibility for the defeat at Bath because we worked them hard in training on Monday,” said the former England captain.

“There was probably not a lot left in their legs and there were a few tired minds as well.

“They gave everything but every player was down in terms of quality and you do get performances like that in pre-season.

“We wouldn’t have worked them that hard on the Monday before a proper game and we’ve given them a bit of recovery time after Tuesday.

“They are looking sharp in training and we will be ready to take on Torquay.”

County also picked up several injuries in midweek, leading Butcher to suggest that he may struggle to pick a team for Saturday’s match.

“Those headlines alerted a lot of agents and I was deluged with calls on Thursday,” he said.

“The money people are asking for is certainly going down as we get closer to August 8 so we’ll wait and see what happens. We are waiting to hear back from one or two players.

“Losing three of the back four at Bath wasn’t ideal but we’ll have no problem getting a team out to play Torquay,” he added.

“We said to the players that if they feel something they shouldn’t try to run through it.

“With the size of squad we’ve got we can’t take any risks and someone like Matty Taylor might miss one game now rather than six weeks.

“Danny Holmes is one that is concerning us because there was no contact with his injury.

“He just felt a sharp shooting pain in his knee when he planted it and we’re waiting on the results of a scan.”

Trialists Dave Vincent, Elliot Scotcher and Branimir Kostadinov are all expected to play some part against Torquay.

“We will be looking to make a decision on the trialists this weekend,” he said. “We have to be fair to them and let them know as soon as possible.”

Butcher has already stated that there is not much more money in the playing budget and that will also affect his ability to make loan signings.

“People seem to think we’ll be bringing in four or five on loan but that won’t happen,” he added.

“Loans still cost money and if they come from outside the area you have to pay for accommodation as well so it can be an expensive business.”