Hayden Mullins reflects on County’s 1-1 draw and feels his side did enough to take all three points.
“This league is tough. Every game is a bit of a battle.
“What we did in the first half, and probably for the first period of the second half, is exactly what we want to try and be here.
"We want to be a strong team, put the opposition on the back foot, create chances and try and come out the victor.
"The one thing we saw in the second half was why they are where they are.
“It’s disappointing to come away with a draw, but we’re still unbeaten at home, and that’s something for us to really build on.”
Mullins also reflects on the challenges his side faced during the match.
“I think there was definitely one in the first half on Michael (Adu-Poku) over on the far side which was a bit of a bad tackle. I think he’s got that one wrong.
“Then in the second half, the striker struck out and hit Lee Jenkins in the face. I’m not sure if it’s an elbow or a forearm, but it did look to me as though he struck out and hit Jenks.
“He’s given him a yellow for that, so I’m not too sure what he needed to do to get that next one. I’m not one for calling for players to get sent off, but I thought the referee today was a little bit lenient."
The Newport manager also praised the atmosphere inside Rodney Parade and how the atmosphere pushes the team on.
“We’re mindful, and we know that we have to give them something to shout about. We have to create a little bit of ambience and a little bit of noise.
“The lads are in the entertainment business, so we’ve got to try and put the ball in the box and get the fans up. You heard it at times today.
“We’re a good side, we’re a powerful side and we put teams on the back foot. We’ve got to remember where that comes from and build on it."
Mullins also talked about Christian Doidge's opener.
“Doidge does so much work for the rest of the guys, and I think Shaquille (Gwengwe) has benefited from a lot of that.
“For Doidge to get his goal today, it was a really well-worked goal as well. We played him down around the outside, got Matty Jacob's in, and he put a lovely ball across.
“We had a couple more chances on top of that which we didn’t really capitalise on, but for Doidge to get off the mark was brilliant and hopefully he can build on that.”
Mullins also believes the point provides a platform to build from.
“When we look back at that today, I think its definitely a game that’s got away, and we should have probably won it. We know that.
“In terms of what we do, the performance we put in today and how we want to be as a team, there were loads of good things to take away from that.
“That’s what we’re trying to do for next week.”
The manager also provided an update on the squad following a physical afternoon.
“Matty Jacob is one who’s managing himself back into full fitness. Before we took him, he had a bit of a hip flexor problem.
“Last week against Northampton, after 65 minutes he started to tire up a little bit. Today, he said he’d try and give me as much as he could, but around the 80-minute mark he started to feel it again, so we had to get him off.
“It’s important that whoever comes into this group tries to fit into what we’re trying to do. Matty fits into that, as does Tan (Nyakuhwa) and Michael (Adu-Poku).
“I think you saw the shift Michael (Adu-Poku) put in. He was looking over after 65 minutes and doubled over a little bit, so we had to try and get him off as well."