Aaron Lewis says he is delighted to be back at Newport County as he looks to take the next step in his career at Rodney Parade and make his mark on his return to the club.
Lewis is back in amber following a successful spell with Mansfield Town, where he gained valuable experience across the third and fourth tiers of the English football pyramid, and is now looking forward to continuing his career with County.
“I had a conversation over the summer a couple of times with them and then spoke to the gaffer about coming in and training, and I was impressed from day one, to be fair, when I came in.”
Lewis also highlighted the improvements made at Newport County since his previous spell, while the club's location was another positive factor for the midfielder.
“Obviously it's different from last time I was here, especially the training facilities, they've come on leaps and bounds and obviously it's closer to Swansea for me, so that's a nice touch. But now everything about the place has got a good buzz to it. Gaffer's great, to be fair, he's got a good squad, so I think it's just a great place to be for me.”
Reflecting on his previous spell at Rodney Parade, Lewis says he has plenty of good memories and already knows what the club and its supporters are about.
“Yeah, definitely, I've got good memories. Obviously I know the club, the fans, everything like that, I know what this club's all about, so I think even the last couple of games, I think it's sort of going back to being hard to beat, that kind of stuff, which is how I obviously remember us at Newport.”
With his experience from playing in League One and League Two, Lewis is hoping to make a positive impact on the current squad.
“I think just getting in and hopefully I can help the lads carry on doing that. I think I can bring a bit of experience to the team. I think, like you said, there's been a couple of late goals conceded, so just help shore it up in there.”
Lewis also acknowledged that supporters could see him in a different role following his return to the club.
“I'm sure the fans remember me playing wing-back, so it'll be a change for them as well. I'm just excited to get going now.”
The midfielder is now looking forward to stepping back out at Rodney Parade in front of the County supporters.
“Saturday, first one back in at Rodney Parade. Everyone said there's a good buzz round the place at the minute, so I'm looking forward to getting involved.”
Looking back on his previous time at the stadium, Lewis picked out the first leg of the play-offs as one of his standout memories.
“Probably maybe first leg of the play-offs, how buzzing that was, to be fair, at Rodney. It was a great atmosphere.”
And ahead of his first home game since returning, Lewis called on the County supporters to continue their backing.
“Everyone come out, keep supporting like you have been, hopefully we can get a win and carry on like we had done.”