PLAYER of the year Ben White insists he won’t let links to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool distract him from his main aim – helping Newport County AFC win promotion.

White won more than 60 per cent of the vote to be named County’s star man at this week’s South Wales Argus Sports Awards.

And the 20-year-old’s stellar performances during his loan spell from Brighton & Hove Albion have reportedly caught the eye of Premier League big boys Spurs and Liverpool.

But the level-headed centre-back will not be taking his eye off the ball as the Exiles, who host Luton Town this afternoon, aim to force their way into the League Two play-off places.

Asked how he deals with the speculation, White said: “It might not be true, it might be true but it doesn’t really affect me.

“I just carry on doing what I’m doing – come in every day and train hard, play as well as I can and help get results for the team.

“I’m in touch with Brighton and I’ve been back a few times but we’ve not really discussed beyond this season.

“I just want to finish strong and see what happens next year.”

South Wales Argus:

Today’s clash with the Hatters is the first of three successive home matches for County and seven of their remaining 10 games are at Rodney Parade.

And White hopes home advantage can help the team bridge a six-point gap to seventh place.

“We’ve got a good record at home and with our fans behind us hopefully we can win them all,” he said.

“The play-offs is the aim. If we can get on a good run we can get in there and promotion is the aim for all of us.

“We all believe and we have done from the start of the season.

“We went on a bad run but we all stuck together and now we’re back on form and hopefully we can keep on winning.”

Wherever White ends up next season he will be grateful for the part the Exiles have played in his development.

“I’m enjoying my time here and that’s why I stayed in January,” said the defender.

“I had offers to go elsewhere – at a higher level – but I’m enjoying my football and that’s when I play best.

“With every game I get more experience and playing with and against older players who have played at a higher level is great for me.

“I’ve definitely developed as a player,” he added.

“When you’re playing under-23s every week there’s no big strikers to worry about but here every week there’s a 6ft 5ins striker to battle against.

“I’ve learned some of the dark arts from OB [Mark O’Brien].

“Him, Mickey [Demetriou] and Pipey [David Pipe] have helped me a lot.

“They’ve talked to me a lot through games and sometimes they don’t even have to say anything but just make me think.

“I’ve improved my positioning in the box – I’m not the tallest so I’ve got to get to the ball first and not get into a battle.

“And my decision-making has improved as well. When I was playing in the under-23s I used to play the ball out every time but now I’ve got to know when to get rid of it in dangerous areas.”