NEWPORT County AFC boss Justin Edinburgh insists his team is back on track and reflecting on a good point well earned after Saturday’s stalemate with Stockport County.

The Exiles had the better chances in a cagey affair but were left frustrated by an inability to convert their openings into goals as the resolute visitors ground out a point.

It ended County’s losing run of two games on the spin but does mean they now head to Barrow on Saturday fourth in the table despite no victories since August.

“I felt in the first half we looked anxious and nervous and that’s maybe no surprise as it’s new to us, having back to back defeats as we had coming into the game,” he said.

“The thing that pleased me is that in the second half we tried to play, we got the ball down and passed it shorter and obviously have nipped the run of defeats in the bud and remained unbeaten at home.

“We’ve got back on track and with the results as they were, we feel it’s a good point gained.

“We are right in the mix (at the top of the table), the point helps us with the top two both losing and it’s a valuable point we’ve got back and we want to carry on as we’ve been doing.”

Edinburgh saw Stockport defend deep and in numbers on Saturday as teams now attempt to stifle County at their new home.

However, the boss feels that represents nothing more than a learning curve for his charges.

“I want to win every game we compete in, that’s our mentality but you can’t always do that, sometimes it’s not always as easy as you think and Stockport wanted a result as much as us,” he explained.

“I think we are going to have to adjust to being a team who is often going to come up against sides who defend deep and look to get a point.

“That was us at times last season but because of the results we’ve had and the players we’ve signed, we are going to face teams who sit deep and look to soak up the pressure.

“We probably didn’t expect it this early in the season but we’ve got to cope and adjust.

“We need to be confident in possession of the ball and learning and improving and playing consistently. It’s just another thing for the players to learn to cope with.”

Edinburgh felt his side were damaged by the late defeat at Dartford and needed time to bounce back.

“The last 20 minutes were excellent and it’s a little bit disappointing we didn’t show that level throughout but the last minute goal at Dartford knocked us a bit and affected confidence levels,” he stated.

“As long as we keep learning and improving, that’s all I will ask from the players.”

Edinburgh brushed off supporter anger about a lack of a penalty but did admit he’d hoped for more in front of goal from his front three.

“I am convinced we should’ve had a penalty at the end, Crowy (Danny Crow) is convinced he’s had two hands in his back but the referee hasn’t given it. Maybe we could’ve been rewarded with it being given but the ref was good all game so I’ll have to back his judgement on that one,” he said.

“I think as a manager you’d expect Jefferson Louis or Aaron O’Connor to score with one of the chances they had, but you get days like that. We’ve been very ruthless in front of goal this season but Saturday just wasn’t one of those days and we move on.”