NEWPORT County AFC captain Joss Labadie has revealed the secret behind the team’s remarkable revival under caretaker manager Michael Flynn – a happy dressing room.

County were 11 points from safety when previous manager Graham Westley was sacked on March 9.

Less than seven weeks later, after winning six of their last 10 matches, the Exiles are two points clear of the League Two relegation zone with two games left to play.

And they can secure their Football League status on Saturday if they win at Carlisle United and Hartlepool United fail to beat fellow strugglers Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road.

Asked to pinpoint the main difference that Flynn has made at Rodney Parade, Labadie said: “I don’t think I can put my finger on it.

“I think it’s just all the boys are enjoying themselves, their enjoying their work and it’s a happy environment.

“And I think that’s the most important thing.

“We’re really excelling under Flynny,” he added.

“In this league anybody can beat anybody. We’re confident in our abilities and the hard work is paying off. Long may it continue.”

But Labadie and teammates know that the job is not done yet.

“The boys are really confident, we’re all enjoying our football but we’re not getting carried away,” said the skipper, speaking to BBC Radio Wales Sport.

“We’ve not achieved nothing yet so we just need to maintain it.

"We're under no illusions, our feet are firmly on the ground.

"We know there's a lot of work left to do. We've got to go into the next two games as we have the last six or seven.

“We have to produce more of the same, keep resilient, keep working hard, giving it 110 per cent each game as we have done and hopefully that will stand us in good stead for the last two games.”

Labadie played down his own role in leading the side, adding: “To be fair, being captain there’s not a lot of work to do really. The boys are fantastic.

“They’re all honest, hard-working players and it’s a privilege to play alongside each and every one of them.”

Meanwhile, the club’s board of directors has dismissed rumours of a potential ground-sharing agreement with Forest Green Rovers.

Director Neil Collier revealed earlier this month that the board was “considering options for the future” should they need to move away from Rodney Parade.

And the home of National League promotion hopefuls Forest Green in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, was seen as one potential solution.

But, in a newsletter sent to fans, the board said: “In response to a query regarding the possibility of ground sharing with Forest Green we can categorically confirm there are no plans to move away from Rodney Parade and play in England at Forest Green.

“We can confirm however that due to the pitch issues the club came under significant pressure from the EFL earlier in the season, resulting in us working closely with them to address the problem, which resulted in the club spending a significant amount on pitch covers to ensure it could meet its commitments.”