NEWPORT County AFC have played attractive football at the start of the James Rowberry era but in-form striker Dom Telford wants to show the new boss their appetite for the dirty work.
The Exiles play their third game in seven days when they take on Colchester United in League Two tomorrow evening (kick-off 7.45pm).
They have bagged 10 points from a possible 15 since Rowberry took the reins and a win tonight would lift the club to fifth ahead of the Saturday action.
The new manager wants to build on the possession-based, on-the-deck style implemented by his predecessor Michael Flynn and they have started expansively.
County made the long trip to Crawley for a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night and are back on the coach to Colchester where it’s not just the pretty stuff that will be needed against hosts fresh from a 3-1 win over Exeter.
“It’s a long week travelling on the road, we need to be men and pull our socks up,” said Telford, who scored a late leveller at Crawley.
“There are times when your backs are against the wall and you need to defend as an XI, not just the lads at the back and Joe [Day, goalkeeper].
“You need to dig in for each other and I think that we showed that in spells at Crawley. It’s the non-negotiables, you need to do the ugly side of the game.
“You earn the right to play and then we can express ourselves. At times you have to get stuck in, win those one-v-ones and pick up second balls, then keep hold of it.”
County bossed the first half in Crawley against a home side content to sit deep but the tables were turned in the second half when the Reds had the better of it.
Telford acknowledges that better decision-making is needed in the final third against sides who are wary of the Exiles’ lively attacking options.
“It was a tough game at Crawley, we tried to break them down and played in the right way but they were sat in a deep block,” he said.
“That’s a compliment to us for the way that we play and the way that we can break teams down when they come at us.
“It’s a point on the road and hopefully on Friday we can get the three to turn Tuesday’s into a good point.”
Telford has now scored in six consecutive League Two fixtures and has 12 for the season, plus another strike in the EFL Trophy.
Padraig Amond’s 15 efforts in 2018/19 is the Exiles’ biggest tally since they returned to the Football League and it would be a surprise if that record remains intact.
Telford heads to Colchester after playing two full 90s in a week but there is little chance of him being one of those to drop out of the XI if boss James Rowberry freshens up.
“Everyone wants to play and when you are getting the goals you just want to keep it going and keep plugging away for the team,” he said.
“There are games like Swindon when I had six shots and chances were coming all the time and then sometimes teams are a bit tougher to break down and you only get one chance, luckily I took it at Crawley.
“Hopefully I will get a few more than that at Colchester on Friday when we we’ll try to turn it to four points from tough away games.”
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