NEWPORT County manager Peter Nicholas, pictured, gave his players a dressing-room dressing-down in the wake of their 4-2 home defeat by Sutton United on Monday, which incurred the wrath of chairman Chris Blight.

The defeat means County have picked up only one point from their last three games and the latest shocker was made all the worse by the fact that it was in front of 1,040 fans, their biggest home league attendance since the visit of Merthyr Tydfil on Boxing Day 2001.

Nicholas said: "I am very disappointed with the result and disappointed for the fans. There was a big crowd and they did not deserve a performance like that.

"We made mistakes all over the pitch and defended very badly. I have told the players that I will not accept performances like that and that they have to get better.

"We should have been more professional and gone on to win the match after going 2-1 up but we shot ourselves in the foot with bad defending. It was a very, very poor display."

But Nicholas insists County have the talent to turn things around.

He said: "I am not going to make any excuses. When you look at the way we started the season, the players looked like they had been together for two or three years.

"So I don't believe it is because we are a new team. These players have too much experience for that. I just think it is that we are giving away silly free kicks and defending them badly."

It has been a bad week all round for the County boss and it may not get much better as they face the two form sides in the Nationwide South in the next two weeks. Bognor visit Newport on Saturday and then County visit Basingstoke.

Nicholas said: "It is early days but I can't accept one point from three games. The players we have got and the support given to us by the board of directors, who have increased the budget, means that we must do better.

"Don't forget that these are the same players who beat Weymouth and Welling.

"It is time to roll the sleeves up because we need to put in a massive performance on Saturday.

"It is a tough game but the matches are only as tough as you make them and we have been making it hard for ourselves.

"The crowd have got behind us and it is now up to the players to give them what they deserve."