NEWPORT County AFC is today a supporter-owned club after smashing the target of £195,000 needed to take control.

The Argus can reveal that £236,000 has been raised, exceeding even the £225,000 originally stated as a target. The figure was reduced after the sale of defender Regan Poole to Manchester United.

The Trust, who sat down with Argus Sport yesterday for an exclusive interview that will appear in Friday’s paper, expressed delight and astonishment at the money raised, while promising to try and return a feel-good factor to Rodney Parade.

That will begin on Saturday ahead of the game with Exeter, where a celebratory ‘fan day’ will run from midday. The first 200 children to arrive with a match ticket will get a free County flag.

The Trust however, also admitted they could be faced with a tough decision over the future of manager Terry Butcher.

Speaking on their delight at finally completing the task of raising the money required – leading to days of working from 7am to midnight – the Trust reiterated their plans for a transparent future.

“We’ve raised £236,000 with the vast majority coming from fans,” spokesman Gavin Foxall said.

“The fact that Newport isn’t the richest place in the world makes it even more fantastic, it shows the appetite here for supporting their local club.

“Now we want to be as inclusive as is possible. Everyone needs to feel welcome here.”

The interim Trust board will now issue share certificate and begin implementing a 90-day plan, before elections are held incrementally.

Les Scadding has signed his shareholding over to the Trust, making them the official majority owner of the club. The Argus can reveal that despite rumours to the contrary, Howard Greenhaf will also be gifting his shares to the club. Mr Greenhaf has yet to miss a County home match since been effectively sacked by Mr Scadding from the board earlier this season.

However, amid the excitement, the Trust did admit they’ll have some big discussions to come on the future of County’s management team.

“I think we’ve got to have some serious meetings, unfortunately we’ve inherited something we’ve got to work on immediately,” explained Trust board member John Bowkett.

“The performance and position of the team is a worry, as supporters we are more than aware of that.”

“The last thing we wanted was to come in and potentially have a big decision to make,” Gavin Foxall confirmed.

“There was a great buzz at the ground last night, you could feel the excitement, until we kicked a ball. Then it was shambolic and not what the fans deserved.

“We will speak with Jason Turner and with Terry Butcher. But this club can’t afford to go down.

“We can’t have all this hard work to end up back where we started.”

Don’t miss Friday’s Argus Sport when the Trust lift the lid on the difficulties in getting the takeover over the line, including the “toxic,” atmosphere at the club.