WITH the resources of a Premier League club at their disposal, perhaps we need to consider quite what the Exiles were up against on Saturday.

Bury might be a League Two club in name and are by no means certain of securing safe passage to League One, but in terms of the haves and the have nots, they are very much Hyacinth Bucket while Newport are Onslow.

Even Pompey would probably blush at Bury’s financial arrangements for the season, their chairman forced to defend his decision-making earlier in the campaign when it was revealed by the Guardian newspaper that they had taken out a £1 million loan with 138% interest to prop up their budget for a promotion push. By means of comparison, £1 million will probably be Newport’s ENTIRE budget next season and is only £300,000 less than County’s current total wage tariff, believed to be an annual £1.3 million.

And while County train surrounded by school children at Llanwern High, where they change among the PE pegs and school satchels, Bury are based at Carrington, formerly the training base of Manchester City, up to and including the season where they won the Premier League.

In terms of division four, Bury are a super power and County were simply fresh out of Kyrptonite on Saturday and powerless to resist a side who have now won eight of their last ten games.

The Exiles were never lacking for effort, they were fluid and flexible in changing their system from 3-5-2, to 4-4-2, to 4-3-3 during the course of 90 absorbing minutes, but they were lacking in quality, in guile in the final third, in general composure and game management.

You can’t coach players to be attentive for every second, to never lose sight of their objective and gameplan, or certainly not in the space of a few weeks and whereas Bury were a well-oiled machine, County looked disjointed and just currently have too many deficiencies.

It’s proving impossible to find a reliable foil for Aaron O’Connor and County don’t have a single player capable of looking a likely scorer in more than mere flashes. They are also now in a position whereby it is impossible to state with any certainty what their best midfield combination is. We only know Mark Byrne is part of it.

A decision from a now departed manager to play either 3-5-2 with designated wingbacks or 4-3-3 with three strikers in tandem in attack means Newport have no natural width in their squad, more than a problem now Jimmy Dack is keen to deploy 4-4-2 on occasion.

Yan Klukoswki is almost being punished by taking on a new and unfamiliar role in practically every game; he’s far from comfortable as a left wingback and had a torrid time throughout the first half.

It goes without saying that Ismail Yakubu, suspended, was also a huge miss, though youngster Regan Poole looked more comfortable in a back three than Andy Sandell did. Quite why David Tutonda has been jettisoned is a head scratcher as well.

The Exiles started brightly and get credit for the incredible effort they expended in the final 20 minutes, relentlessly pursuing an equaliser, but they were found lacking in quality in the final third during those interludes.

And for the other 60 minutes, Bury battered them.

Let’s be fair about this, David Flitcroft’s side were a cut above County, producing arguably the best away performance at Rodney Parade all season.

Playing a variation on 4-4-2 with Tom Soares advanced, the Shakers overwhelmed County in midfield even when the Exiles had a nominal man advantage playing 3-5-2.

Any Newport adjustment in the contest was reactive, because Bury suffocated the Exiles, pressed high and fast and retained the ball with more purpose, borne out by the statistics, Bury having more shots on target in the match than Newport had shots in total.

The Exiles had their moments, Aaron O’Connor generally the central figure, but they were carved open several times by Bury, only saved by a combination of poor finishing and inspired goalkeeping.

But there was nothing Day could do to prevent Ryan Lowe’s clever header in the first half, flicking a shot from Chris Hussey after a short corner expertly into the net.

And when sub and former Wales striker Daniel Nardiello stroked home number two on the break in the dying moments, few in Rodney Parade would have denied it was deserved.

The good news is County are unlikely to face a harder game in the run-in, Dack believing three wins from four games will secure a play-off berth.

But with Southend away next up, Newport might not have an ounce of wriggle room by the time Dagenham arrive for a true do or die test for the Exiles on Saturday.

County (5-3-2): Day, Poole, Jones, Sandell, Jackson, Klukowski (Storey 46), Byrne, Minshull (Feely 53), Chapman, O’Connor, Zebroski (Jeffers 70)

Subs not used: Stephens, Porter, Parker, Tutonda

Booked: None

Bury (4-4-2): Pope, Jones, Hussey, El-Abd, Cameron, Tuttle, Etuhu, Mayor, Soares (Rose 80), Lowe (Nardiello 61), Eaves (Sedgwick 70)

Subs not used: Hope, Adams, O’Brien, Lainton

Booked: Rose

Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands)

Attendance: 3231