NEWPORT County AFC’s squad will go up against each other in a full fixture on Tuesday as manager Graham Coughlan hunts more selection headaches.
The Exiles’ injury crisis is easing and the boss has been able to field the same XI in three successive fixtures and fill his bench for the last two.
With a blank Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s trip to Tranmere, County will take the opportunity to have an in-house fixture to work their fit-again players towards full fitness.
Midfielders Harry Charsley and Aaron Wildig and forward Kiban Rai have returned from injury with appearances off the bench.
Left-back Adam Lewis, who has been out since September 30 because of a quad injury, was put through his paces on the Rodney Parade pitch after the FA Cup draw with Barnet on Saturday.
That contingent doing fitness drills also featured defender Harrison Bright, who has been on loan at Barry Town United but was suspended for their Cymru Premier defeat at Connah’s Quad, the unused substitutes and those that came on.
“Charsley and Wildig came on and were breathing through their backsides,” said Coughlan. “We need to get game time into them.
“It’s a struggle getting minutes because it has to be done on a Saturday or Tuesday during games but we have a ‘bounce’ game.
“Hopefully I can get a number of lads some game time and minutes under their belts so that we can have a few more choices and options off the bench.”
County are still without long-term injury victims Kyle Jameson (hip), Declan Drysdale (hamstring), Josh Seberry (broken leg) and Offrande Zanzala (knee).
They will draft in some youth team players to make a pair of full teams with action for midfielders James Waite and Nathan Wood after being unused substitutes recently.
However, Coughlan will be careful to ensure that his regulars get a breather this week after a sluggish performance against Barnet in which they failed to hit the heights of the wins against Stockport and Morecambe.
“There were a couple of players with their hands on their knees and that is not normal for us, they are usually full of running when it goes beyond the 70 or 80-minute mark,” said the manager.
“We were flat and lacked energy, which might be a consequence of the two months of football [during the injury crisis], which is always going to hit you.
“I don’t think we were at it, our mindset, mentality and game plan didn’t come off for us and I’ve not stood there after games too often and said that.
“Our energy and pressing is a big part of our game but that was missing, so I had to have a little bit of a nibble at the lads over the quality and lack of composure and game nous.
“But two wins and a draw, I can’t be greedy. I can be frustrated but I am sure we will get into them what we need before Tranmere.”
County are 15th in League Two and are seven points ahead of Tranmere, who are in the final safe spot.
Bottom club Sutton are 11 back on the Exiles with Forest Green trailing by 10 with a game in hand.
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