Jamille Matt says Newport County AFC aren’t far away from a much-needed League Two victory after they were cruelly denied all three points when Cheltenham Town grabbed a late equaliser at Rodney Parade.
Matt pointed to the fact that County set a club record Football League unbeaten streak of 17 matches only a few months ago and he believes the squad can get back to those heights again.
The Exiles turn their attentions temporarily to cup action in the next few games and Matt feels impressive results against higher league opposition would give them the perfect confidence to take back into domestic competition.
On the draw with Cheltenham Town…
“I think it’s similar to the game the other day [against Leyton Orient] where we’re disappointed that we haven’t come away with all three points again.
“It’s starting to feel like a broken record but all we can do now is try to look towards the next game and take the positives from this performance.
“It’s always a tough pill to swallow considering they scored so late but the only thing we can do is move onto the next game. We’ve got to be able to see games out, especially during this run that we’re in at the minute where we haven’t won in the league for a while.
“It’s just frustrating. We’ll try and take the positives from it; we played relatively well I thought and probably could have scored a few more.
“I think Cheltenham will be the happier side to come away with a point because I thought we deserved the three points. That’s testament to how well we played.”
On the determination to get a league victory…
“In perspective, I spoke to my dad not so long ago and he was speaking to a family member of mine and he was saying that it wasn’t that long ago when the club were 17 games unbeaten.
“I took a bit of confidence from that because you look in perspective and you think he’s absolutely right. Most of that team are still here so we’ve got to look back and remember we are a good team and we need to get that confidence to try and get the first win under our belt.
“On the flip side of things, it’s two games unbeaten now so if we can get a victory in the next league game then it’s three unbeaten and try to build momentum that way.”
On switching attentions to the cup competitions…
“Personally, the league is our bread and butter, so I’d prefer to have another league game coming up.
“The FA Cup is something that is on the schedule and something that we’ve done well in in the past. We try and do well in every game, so our attentions turn to that now. It won’t be easy because Millwall are doing very well.
“If we can get a victory, then that would breed confidence for us to carry on and hopefully it would snowball from there into a win in the league.”
On the trip to Championship outfit Millwall on Saturday…
“I’ve never experienced it [The Den] before. You obviously hear things like it’s a tough place to go and it’ll be a challenge.
“At the end of the day, they’re a Championship club and they’ll be a good team. Gary Rowett has always done well as a manager at different clubs, so they’ll be well prepared and I’m sure they’ll know a lot about us.
“We’ve got to go there and play with confidence, no fear, and try to get a good result.
“We’ve obviously had some good times in this competition, away at Middlesbrough etc. That’s probably my favourite memory from last season so if the supporters can come along again and support us then hopefully, we’ll give them something to shout about.”