A TRIP to Barrow should reveal the character of Nelson Jardim’s Newport County AFC squad as they look to bounce back from a League Two nightmare.
Holker Street is a tough place to go at the best of times but the Exiles travel to Cumbria with injuries and a suspension to key players.
They will be without three of their most experienced players – full-back Shane McLoughlin, central defender James Clarke, midfielder Aaron Wildig – and face a Bluebirds side who have started the season impressively.
County are huge underdogs for the fixture but need to at least show some fight for their supporters to lead into a home encounter with Crewe a week on Saturday.
The Exiles were dreadful at Swindon seven days ago when they were hammered 4-0 by a side who were yet to win in league or cup.
All of the goals came in the first half and things could have been worse were it not for goalkeeper Nick Townsend and the Robins clocking off.
The disastrous display at Swindon came after a 4-1 home defeat to a strong Port Vale side, when County imploded and had Ciaran Brennan and Kyle Jameson sent off.
Jardim’s side started their recovery with a 1-0 win against West Ham’s Under-21s on Tuesday and the head coach has been impressed by the response of his squad.
“We are dealing with people and you never know how they are going to react,” he said.
“After these two games we could also see that we have a good group who work hard every day, who have good character and resilience.
“They have shown that since the first day and are able to bounce back. Things aren’t always going to go our way but it’s about bouncing back, going again and showing character and strength that we need to be successful.”
After a summer of change, County have still made a steady start to the campaign with nine points from six fixtures.
Wins against Accrington and Morecambe – two teams that could well be with them in the bottom tier of the table – and a superb success against Doncaster have ensured there is no panic.
“Two weeks ago I urged everybody not to get complacent because that’s part of human nature when things are going well and you feel a little bit more relaxed,” said Jardim.
“I wouldn’t say that we had to have strong words, it was more of a case of us understanding that we had to go back to the willingness to do everything well, compete and enjoy being strong in everything we do.”
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