KEVIN Ellison is happy to be Newport County AFC’s supersub if it gives him the chance to keep silencing his critics with vital goals.

The 42-year-old turned a point into three for the Exiles on Saturday when he glanced in a spectacular header for a 1-0 win at Oldham Athletic.

It was Ellison’s fourth goal for County and all of them have been important.

There was the last-gasp winner against Port Vale, the clincher on his return to Morecambe and the key strike from distance that got the Exiles back into the play-off semi-final at Forest Green Rovers.

Ellison has made 25 League Two appearances for County but only two of them have been as a starter.

However, forward won’t be hammering loudly at manager Michael Flynn’s door as long as the cameos keep coming.

“People will look at me and say that I can play many games and that I can’t play 90 minutes,” said Ellison, who came on for the final 20 at Boundary Park.

“I know what I can do, if the gaffer is going to use me off the bench this season and that happens then so be it.

“If you tell me that I am going to come off the bench and have a chance every game then I will take that over starting [occasionally] and not getting involved as much. If I have one chance then I will take it.

“People will say that I’m 42 and must be finished now but I’ve got nothing to prove to anybody.

“I’ve done it for years and will continue to do it. I haven’t got anything to prove to anyone, just myself.”

South Wales Argus:

County will aim to build on their Oldham win when they head to Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup this evening (kick-off 7.45pm).

“We started the season well with three points, it’s great to score but the main thing is that we won. Let’s kick on from here,” said Ellison.

“It wasn’t pretty but we won and that’s the main thing. It was vital because teams in the past have had a play-off hangover but we have started well and hopefully we can kick on.

“We’ve lost a few key players but the gaffer has brought others in, they are going to take time to settle down into how we play. There is quality there and it’s just about blending it now.”

Ellison was listed as a trialist in pre-season while trashing out a deal with Flynn but the delay about signing up for a second season was down to his Rodney Parade role.

“It was always getting sorted. I spoke to the gaffer and it wasn’t about money, it was about me moving forward as a player-coach,” he said.

“We call it the dark side of what I can offer and how I am going to implement in coaching as well as playing.

“I am grateful to the club for giving me a role and hopefully I can help the young lads. It’s not just football, I’ve had life experiences that I can help them with. I am there to help them out.”

Ellison was influential on and off the field in his first campaign in Newport but the return of fans could inspire the chatty Scouser to more magic moments.

South Wales Argus:

“I enjoy having banter with the crowd. A few of them were giving me stick before the game and in the warm-up in Oldham,” he said.

“When I scored I had a word or two with a couple of them and that’s football. People asked last season about the R word (retirement), but I couldn’t do the R word when there were no fans.

“I’m about mixing with the fans and having a bit of a laugh and a joke. Luckily for me it paid off at Oldham.

“Half the fans love coming to wind me up and have a bit of banter, getting stuff off their chest by having a go at the bald man.

“It’s great to have the crowd back and I was made up to score in front of our fans. I’ve got so much stick from Newport County over the year and was lucky to do it in front of them and send them home happy after they travelled to Oldham in numbers.”