FRASER Franks has revealed that manager Michael Flynn and two club legends convinced him to join Newport County AFC this summer.

The 27-year-old centre-back left League Two rivals Stevenage last month and Flynn was quick to get in touch.

Franks was impressed with the manager’s sales pitch but he also sought the advice of County promotion hero Christian Jolley and Great Escape star Mickey Demetriou before agreeing a two-year deal at Rodney Parade.

Speaking to iFollow Exiles, he said: “I just felt like I needed a new challenge.

“I’ve been at Stevenage for a few years now, they offered me a new deal, but I just felt like I needed to go elsewhere and into a new environment in order to test myself again.

“I needed to challenge myself and the manager here was the first one that I spoke to after the final day of the season.

“He made me feel wanted, made me feel like I would be valued so this was the club that I chose.

“You sign for a club obviously,” he added. “But I think that you also sign for a manager. You need someone that believes in the same things that you do and from the first phone call I had with Mike Flynn, I was pretty much convinced that this was the club for me.”

Franks also spoke to new teammate Demetriou and close friend Jolley about the club and the city.

“I know Mickey Demetriou really well,” he said. “I’ve given him a few texts over the summer just to see about living in Newport and stuff like that. I needed to know what he thought of the club and he was really positive.

“One of my best friends is Christian Jolley – all the Newport fans will know him I’m sure – so I spoke to him quite a bit as well.

“I spoke to quite a few people who have played for Newport in the past – I needed to do that initial research beforehand and everyone had nothing but good things to say about the football club and the manager.”

But Franks was not totally unfamiliar with the club having played against the Exiles on numerous occasions and made one appearance on loan for Justin Edinburgh’s side back in 2012.

And he’s looking forward to having the County fans on his side in the 2018-2019 campaign.

South Wales Argus:

“I always remember the stand behind the dugouts because that’s quite vocal,” he said of his past experiences at Rodney Parade.

“I would have to say that I’ve probably played against Newport more than any other club if I’m honest.

“I played at Spytty Park against them when I was 16 or 17 on loan in the Conference South and then played against them progressively throughout my career.

“It’s always been a tough game as well as a tough atmosphere – it can always be a massive advantage if you have a fan-base like the one here that always gets behind the boys. I’m sure they will be doing that again this season.

“The fans will be crucial because we want to develop a positive outlook going forward. We want to be a team that is progressing constantly each season and that was another one of the reasons that I joined Newport.

“There’s a good fan-base, they are a big club in terms of the area so hopefully the fans can help us throughout the season.”

Meanwhile, County have announced a partnership with One Gym, which is set to open in Langland Way in Newport later this month.

Flynn said: “Myself and the chairman went to visit Alex and Dave at One Gym last week. “We were really impressed with the facilities and the location with it being so close to our training ground at Spytty Stadium.

“Our partnership with One Gym is going to mean the players have a place to do their off-field training but also offers a place for the players to hang out and socialise after training.”

A further announcement on training facilities is expected later this week.