IF NEWPORT County AFC got “everything absolutely bang on” they could survive in League One, according to Lennie Lawrence.

Former Cardiff City boss Lawrence will continue in his role as an advisor to Michael Flynn after the latter was given the Rodney Parade manager’s job on a permanent basis.

Lawrence, 69, believes Flynn, who masterminded County’s survival in League Two this season while in caretaker charge, has what it takes to make the club a lot more stable.

And not only does the veteran of more than 1,000 games as a manager feel the Exiles have the potential to steer well clear of the drop zone next term, they could climb the league ladder.

Assessing what needs to be done to go forward, he said: “We’ve got to reduce the numbers.

“The wage bill is about right for a club this size, and you can’t go potty with money otherwise you’ll be skint.

"The recruitment we do has to be bang on. You can be the best manager in the world but if your recruitment is rubbish you will struggle.

“We’ve got to keep the best players and recruit some who are as good or better.

“We need to keep the momentum going and hopefully get off to a good start next season.

“There is nothing more important than that recruitment in the summer.”

He added: “There is a potential to be a top half League Two team, and if you get everything absolutely bang on you can survive in League One.”

On Flynn, he said: “Everybody wants a young manager because they are hoping for the next Alex Ferguson.

“With a club like Newport, you’ve got to know what you’re doing, but you must care about it.

“It must be more than a job. Michael is a local lad and he played for the club so you’ve got that.

“He’s got a great work ethic and has shown the ability to learn and benefit from the experience as he goes on.

“It’s not easy but he has got a foothold and I’ll do the best I can to make sure he does well enough to stay in the job, or if he does that well he may get a chance to move to a bigger club.

“I think it’s important that in your first job as manager you spend a reasonable amount of time there.

“I would be a little bit disappointed if he didn’t do at least a couple of years here, and all the time Newport are progressing.”

Lawrence also reckons there is one quality Flynn has that shines through.

“Wayne Hatswell, myself and the other coaches contributed but it all starts and finishes with man-management,” he added.

“There’s an old saying in football that, as a manager, you can do what you like with the players during the week but it’s no good if they don’t play for you on a Saturday.

“Michael certainly got that, and that’s been the key to it.

“As he gets older and more experienced at the job he will tweak this and refine that and pull away from the players a little bit, but what he did was just what the doctor ordered.

“Young managers have got to decide fairly early in their careers if they are a manager who can coach or a coach who can manage. Mike is a manager who can coach.

“His man-management is good, he has got a business sense, and I think Newport needs a manager, not a head coach.

“In the Premier League and Championship there are a million people to do those off-the-field things and you’re just a head coach at those clubs.

“Here, it’s different, it needs a manager and I think he’ll fill the shoes.

“He’s got a work ethic, he understands how it all runs, he understands Newport better than anybody, and if the club can be managed and run properly you’ve got a much better chance of success on the field.

“It’s Mike’s man-management that has been the key, pulling all the players together, making them a part of it whether they’re in the team or not in the team.”