NEW signing Maxime Blanchard has already seen enough to convince him that Newport County AFC have the spirit to survive in League Two.

The 30-year-old Frenchman arrived at Rodney Parade as a free agent last week and made his debut in Friday night’s 0-0 draw with leaders Doncaster Rovers.

County are still bottom of the table and are now five points from safety with a game in hand going into tonight’s home game against mid-table Grimsby Town.

But the draw with Doncaster extended the Exiles’ unbeaten run to five games and Blanchard believes they can avoid relegation.

“I know League Two quite well; any team can beat anyone,” said the former Plymouth Argyle defender.

“If you get a little bit of momentum and you work hard you can go [up the table] quick.

“I did that once with Plymouth when we were struggling and we saved ourselves with three or four games to go.

“You can go [up the table] quick – you just have to do the right things.

“The players here know what’s at stake and with a performance like that [on Friday] you can see that everyone’s fighting together and that’s what you need to stay in this league.

“You need to have that drive in the team and everyone has to pull in the same direction.

“The fighting spirit is there and that’s certainly a minimum requirement if you want to stay in the League.

“Newport County has more than enough to stay in the League.”

When asked if he’d ever played on a pitch as bad as the Rodney Parade surface, Blanchard replied: “Against Newport three years ago!”

He added: “The pitch is what it is and at least you know what it is before you start the game.

“It makes it different and you just have to play with the conditions.

“I don’t know if it helps us because that would make us players that are only capable of playing on this kind of pitch.

“But I guess you can use it to your advantage if you’re more familiar with it.”

South Wales Argus:

Blanchard, who was released by Irish side Shamrock Rovers last summer, could partner Mitch Rose in central midfield again tonight.

“I only knew I was playing on Thursday and I’d only been with the team for a few days,” he revealed after the Doncaster match.

“I played the [reserve] game on Monday and trained twice.

“You always want to impress when you step onto the pitch – that’s just about yourself and your pride.

“You want to do well, whether you want to earn a contract or not.

“The last competitive game I played was in July so obviously I’m not completely fit but I just had to stay fit and do the things you have to do when you’re out of contract.

“I am ready and if I’m required I will play," he added. "I just want to play.”