NEWPORT County AFC great escape hero Mickey Demetriou will be staying at Rodney Parade.

The 27-year-old defender, whose goals were crucial in the Exiles avoiding relegation this season, has handed the club a massive boost by signing a two-year deal.

“I’m really happy to get the deal over the line and I’m looking forward to next season,” said Demetriou.

“We ended the season well so hopefully we can start a fresh now whilst building on what we did towards the end of last season.”

Demetriou originally joined County in January on a contract until the end of the 2016/17 campaign.

After a slow start to life at County, the left-footed centre-back scored winning goals in the home victories against Crawley and Yeovil.

He also found the net in the 2-1 loss at Carlisle before giving the Exiles the lead from the penalty spot in the dramatic final day defeat of Notts County.

His exploits in April didn’t go unnoticed with the England C international picking up the League Two player of the month award.

Securing the former Kidderminster and Shrewsbury man for two years will be seen as a coup for County boss Michael Flynn, with Demetriou’s end-of-season form likely to have caught the attention of other clubs.

And the Rodney Parade chief is thrilled to see Demetriou put pen to paper, following in the footsteps of Mark O’Brien, David Pipe, Tom Owen-Evans, Joe Day, Marlon Jackson and Robbie Willmott, who have all signed up for at least one more term.

Flynn said: “I am delighted to get Mickey over the line as he was an important part of staying up last season.

“Mickey has a great left foot and is now entering a stage in his career where his experience and quality is going to be vital for us.”

Exiles fans have been very vocal on social media in their desire for the club to keep Demetriou so this news will no doubt come as a big relief to the supporters.

Those who have signed new deals will be joining Scot Bennett, Dan Butler, Jamie Turley, Joss Labadie, Mark Randall, Sean Rigg, Aaron Williams, Jazzi Barnum-Bobb and Ben Tozer in next season’s squad.

Marcus Beauchamp, Liam Angel, Paul Bignot, Kieran Parselle, Finlay Wood, Jack Compton, Tom Meechan, Craig Reid, Mitch Rose and Ryan Bird were all released at the end of the season.

Darren Jones retired from professional football and Alex Samuel, Sid Nelson and Janoi Gordon all went back to their parent clubs following the completion of loan spells.

There has been no news yet on the futures of James Bittner, Lenell John-Lewis and Jennison Myrie-Williams.