Ciaran Brennan admitted he has "loved" his time at Newport County after making his first appearance since signing a new contract in the club's 3-0 pre-season victory over Bristol Manor Farm.
The defender, who made 28 appearances in all competitions during the 2025-26 campaign, captained the side for the final 30 minutes as Newport County opened their pre-season schedule with a convincing win.
Despite it being a friendly, Brennan insisted the focus was on building winning habits ahead of the new season.
"It's quite a big thing with mindset. If you go into a game like this with the right one, which we did, you really ought to come here and win the game.
"It's not just for minutes in the legs – that's all great, but you actually want to get used to winning football games, and we didn't do enough of that last year.
"We spoke as a group, and internally we really want to push on and win a lot more football games."
The squad returned for pre-season training on Monday and Brennan admitted the opening week has already tested the players physically.
"We've had a tough first week, double sessions every day, so it's been tough.
"A few of the boys came into the game a bit leggy, but that's what it's for. It was good exercise and fair play to them, they made it tough.
"But we got the win in the end, and that's what we came for."
Several of Newport County's summer signings featured against Bristol Manor Farm, including Shaquille Gwengwe, Dan Sassi, Kyle Cameron, Harrison Biggins and Christian Doidge.
Brennan believes the new arrivals have settled into the squad quickly.
"We've got a few new boys, and it's nice to see a few that I've known from before, experienced players that have added to the group really well.
"They've all settled straight in, and it's looking like a good group so far."
Having committed his future to the club, Brennan is excited for what lies ahead.
"I've loved my time since I've been here. I feel like there's a lot more in me to show in a Newport shirt and I'm looking forward to kicking on.
"I'm looking forward to the new season. I was like a kid at Christmas waiting for the fixtures to come out, and I want to get going now."
