HE’S scored six goals in his last four games but Jaanai Gordon may still have to make do with a place on the bench again when Newport County AFC take on Doncaster Rovers on Friday night.

The striker on loan from West Ham United earned County a point at Cheltenham Town last weekend with a stoppage-time equalizer.

He had scored three goals in two games for the reserves before that and bagged another brace in the Central League victory at Exeter City on Monday afternoon.

Manager Graham Westley is pleased with the 21-year-old’s improvement after a disappointing first team debut at Stevenage last month.

But he suggested that Gordon still has work to do if he’s to dislodge fellow front men Ryan Bird, Aaron Williams or Craig Reid from the starting XI.

“It was good to see him continue his progress,” said the Exiles boss.

“When he played against Stevenage he looked below par.

“He looked like a fish out of water and he played a couple of reserve games and didn’t do an enormous amount better.

“He was struggling – a young player struggling to adapt.

“But, bit by bit, he’s taken feedback on board in a really constructive way. He’s wanted to know what he can do to get better and improve and he’s starting now to make that progress.

“He scored three goals in two games [in the reserves] to get back into the 18. He got a goal at the weekend and then scored twice again on Monday [in the reserves].

“It’s obviously good when you’ve got a striker finding the back of the net.

“In fairness though, Bird and Williams found the net the previous weekend and Reid on the whole has been doing quite well so as a front three there’s a lot of competition up there now.”

Defender Mickey Demetriou also scored in the reserves match on Monday but he’s not yet ready to start in League Two.

“It’s not so much him having to be patient because of others or because of selection, it’s more him having to be patient because he came here unfit,” added Westley.

“I said when we signed him that he isn’t going to walk in the door and play for four or five weeks. He’s doing his pre-season.

“As it happens, he headed one in on Tuesday and was taken off with a bang to the head so it was a nuisance because he got 20 minutes under his belt and a goal but he didn’t get 90 minutes under his belt and he really needs that.

“We’re having to be very careful with Mick, we have to rehabilitate him at the same time as we get his pre-season into him and all of that means that he, I and the club were always going to have to be patient.

“We’re pretty much on track with him but I didn’t expect to use him as a starter for five or six weeks after he came.”

Westley also used Monday’s match to look at potential signings but he reiterated that there is no room to bring anyone else into the squad until players depart.

“I’ve always got trialists around the place and I’m looking at free agents to bolster resources and the minute that we free funds up we’ll do something, I’m sure,” he said.

“It was the case on transfer deadline day; I had a couple of things lined up but we weren’t able to push the button because there’s a log jam at the moment and we need to get that out of the way.

“And that situation is still as it was.”