NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn says his players are desperate to get back to match action after a tough two weeks of pre-season training.

County’s first friendly is at Undy AFC on Friday night, quickly followed by a second at Swindon Supermarine on Saturday afternoon.

And the Exiles players are relishing the matches having worked hard on their fitness since returning from their summer break on June 29.

“It’s gone well so far, I’ve been really impressed with the lads,” said Flynn.

“They’ve come back in great shape and they’ve all gelled straightaway.

“The new lads have settled quickly and it’s just like we’re carrying on from where we left off, which is a good sign because I’m really positive about this group of lads.

“But nobody enjoys the running part of pre-season. It’s probably the most frustrating part of it because you’re doing all that hard work and there’s no game at the end of the week.

“So we’re all glad that the games are about to start.

“The boys have looked fantastic so far and I’m really pleased with how hard they’ve worked. Hopefully they can go and put that into action now on the pitch.”

Flynn will aim to give everyone a run-out either on Friday or Saturday.

“We will be using first team players in both games,” said the Exiles boss.

“We’ll probably mix and match and give people 45 minutes each.

“We’ll also have a couple of young players in and a couple of trialists.

“We’ve got to do it right and pre-season has been planned thoroughly.

“We want to minimise the amount of injuries we get or minimise the risk of injuries so that is something that we’ve obviously given careful consideration to.

“And that’s why I’ve got Wayne Hatswell with me because he’s very good at that.”

After this weekend’s double-header, County are at Chippenham Town next Tuesday night and Merthyr Town next Wednesday.

They then travel to Evesham to take on Tim Harris’ Gloucester City on Saturday, July 22, before trips to Barry Town on July 25 and finally Northampton Town on July 29.

“Pre-season is about fitness and just making sure they’re ready to go on August 5,” said Flynn.

“You’d like to breed the confidence by winning every pre-season game but that’s not really what is important.

“I couldn’t care less if we lost every pre-season game and then went onto win the first three in the league. That would be fine with me.

“I’ve also seen it where people have gone unbeaten in pre-season and lost the first three or four.

“We want to make sure they’re at their peak come August 5.”

It’s not been all shuttle runs and bleep tests for the players over the past fortnight, however.

The squad were also able to let their hair down with a trip to Chepstow Racecourse.

“We went to Chepstow Races for a bit of team bonding and Frank Nouble was straight up doing his initiation song,” said the boss. “He absolutely loved it.

“It was a good evening and it meant the boys could do some bonding without going away and spending the club’s money!”