FORGET Day of Destiny or Judgement Day or any other overused footballing clichs.

Because for Newport County AFC, today's match against Maidenhead at Spytty Park is beyond all hype and arguably their most important 90 minutes since forming out of the ashes of the old Newport County in 1989.

Manager John Cornforth and his players know that victory, or even a draw, will secure their Nationwide South status.

Even defeat might be enough to stay up, provided Carshalton do not manage a victory at Eastbourne, who thankfully are still chasing a play-off spot.

The ideal scenario would be that Carshalton concede a couple of early goals that will take the pressure off both County and Maidenhead, as a draw would keep them both up.

But rarely has anything remotely gone to plan this season, so it would be foolish to expect it to do so this afternoon.

Fans will be glued to their radios for information coming from from the south east of England and even the County manager has admitted that he will be getting regular updates from the Carshalton game.

It is sure to be a nerve-shredding afternoon and there is no doubt that Cornforth will have to play it safe.

There would be little point in attacking Maidenhead with all guns blazing only to leave the back door open, which has happened shedloads of times this season, when only a point is needed.

What is clear is that the County fans are owed a big performance by their side today.

Whether or not a large chunk of the squad are going to be at Spytty Park next season is irrelevant because the players who have not performed this season know they will be standing in the taxi queue after 4.45pm, and they should be determined to make sure that their legacy is not one of abject failure.

For the rest, this is one last chance to show the manager, who has been told by the board that his job is safe no matter what the outcome today, that they are worthy of another year at the club.

It has been an amazingly disappointing season, with promises of promotion evaporating amidst managerial sacking and financial problems, punctuated with fans' unrest, threatening phone calls and anti-Welsh complaints, so the very least the club can do is provide an exciting climax and with it, Conference South safety.

Quite simply, now is the time for Newport County to stand up and be counted.