CARETAKER manager Michael Flynn has vowed that Newport County AFC will not go down without a fight while he is in charge.

Flynn enjoyed the perfect start after replacing Graham Westley in the dugout as County staged a second-half fightback from a goal down to win 2-1 at Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.

Dan Butler’s volley cancelled out Callum Cooke’s opener for the hosts and new captain Joss Labadie slotted in the winner in the last minute at Gresty Road.

A first victory since January 28 saw the Exiles move to within nine points of safety at the bottom of League Two, with a game in hand.

“We want to fight, we want to put the pressure on other teams and drag them in,” said Flynn. “We’re not going down without a fight, not on my watch. It’s not happening.

“The fans know what it means to me and I know what it means to the fans and now the players are seeing exactly what it means.

“I want to keep the club up and I want to give the fans’ belief,” he added.

“Last week was a kick in the teeth, we can’t change that but what we can do is affect what we do going forward.

“We’ve got to keep fighting and scrapping, keep getting wins, picking up points and catching the teams above us.

“Then it gets interesting. It drags other teams in and puts pressure on them.”

But Flynn knows that there is a lot of hard work still to do, starting at Morecambe on Tuesday night.

“There’s nothing to celebrate,” he said. “We’re bottom of the Football League and it’s somewhere I don’t want to be so I won’t be celebrating yet.

“Morecambe is a very tough place to go. Kevin Ellison is a friend of mine and they are a tough team.

“They’re a hard working team and that’s why they’ve got so many points.

“They haven’t got the highest budget in the league but they’re a tough team and we’ve got to go there and make sure we’re up for a battle.

“I think if we match them in the battle our quality will show through.”

Flynn also revealed that midfield duo Ben Tozer and Mark Randall, who were out in the cold under Westley, could come back into the fold.

“I tried to ring Ben but I’ve had nothing back yet,” he said.

“They’ve been away for a few weeks so they’re not going to be match-fit.

“I’ll sit down on Monday and we’ll talk about Mark and Ben but I’ll only include them if it’s right.

“Forget about personal vendettas, there were reasons why they were left out and I’ve got to make sure that it’s right to include them again.

“If I think somebody can add value I’d be silly to rule them out but I’ve got to make sure they do have their heart and soul in Newport County.”