EX-IRELAND teammate and Liverpool legend Ray Houghton believes John Sheridan is the perfect man to revive Newport County AFC’s fortunes.

The Exiles are marooned on the bottom of League Two, but produced a vastly improved display on Saturday to draw 1-1 with Exeter City in Sheridan’s first game in charge.

And the man who partnered Sheridan in Ireland’s midfield on route to a shock victory over Italy at the 1994 World Cup, believes County have made a smart decision.

“I think John will bring experience, he knows the division, he has managed three clubs at that level and the kind of character he is, he’s a winner and one that has a good relationship with his players. He gets into their heads straight away,” Houghton told BBC Wales.

“Results recently haven’t been great, or Terry would still be there.

“John has been sitting on the sidelines, biding his time and now it will come down to balance sheets as well the money to invest in a team, can the club afford to bring any new players in?

“He needs to get his philosophy across, he likes to see expressive players, so I’m sure Newport fans will see their players starting to show the qualities they have.”

Houghton believes instability has hurt the Exiles, who should be looking to persuade Sheridan to remain on Parade long-term.

“There has been constant change at Newport and that doesn’t help the players, the manager is the leader. That’s something the board had to decide on and they’ll want John to be there quite a while,” he said.

“He took over at Plymouth when they were struggling and got them playing in a good style. The players knew what was expected of them.

“Hopefully he can really get into the players and get them winning games shortly.

“The most important thing is that he’s true to his own philosophies. The players respect you then. He’ll work hard, 100%, to give the best for Newport County.

“He was managed by Brian Clough and will have learned from every manager he worked for. But he’ll be his own man and the Newport lads will be looking forward to playing for him.”

Sheridan believes joining Newport represents his biggest professional challenge.

“I’ve only been here a couple of days, I got a phone call on Thursday and was only too happy to take on the challenge, it’s a big one, the biggest of my career, but one I’m confident I can do well and keep us out of trouble,” he said.

“The supporters have they have passion for the club by getting them out of trouble financially and it’s important now we keep them in this division.”

Sheridan is enjoying working with ex-players Mike Flynn and Byron Anthony.

“It’s been good having Mike Flynn and Byron Anthony with me, I’m not going to lie, I don’t know too much about Newport other than when managing against them, so it’s important to have one or two people with me who know the club inside out,” he said.

“I will have a look this week with my backroom staff, I will sort that out and the players will get a bit more used to me and see what I think we need to do.”