NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn says the way his team performed in the 1-0 home win over Morecambe proves that he still has the backing of his players.

Flynn questioned the character of the squad following last week’s 5-0 hammering at Oldham Athletic but he insists that claims that he has ‘lost the dressing room’ are wide of the mark.

And he’s delighted to get back to winning ways thanks to Dale Gorman’s chipped finish midway through the second half at Rodney Parade.

“People like making up rubbish and you get clowns who say, ‘he’s lost the dressing room’ but I think that [performance] proves that is wrong,” said the Exiles boss.

“It’s just an easy thing for people who have never involved in football to say.

“We ironed out one or two problems and instilled some belief back into the players and some confidence and we went back to a three [at the back],” he added.

“It’s unfortunate; there’ve been a few games where we’ve had no left-backs and no right-backs and we haven’t been able to keep a settled team for a number of games.

“And, if you look at the teams at the top, nine times out of 10 they are near-enough picking the same team and that’s a big advantage.”

South Wales Argus:

Flynn also reiterated that the poor condition of the Rodney Parade pitch made life difficult for both sides.

“I don’t ever use the pitch as an excuse, but it has absolutely gone now,” he said.

“It’s appalling and it’s hard to play any football on it.

“You get supporters shouting out ‘let’s get the ball down’ but it’s the worst it’s been.

“It doesn’t help either team, but we should have that little advantage because we know what to expect.

“We all want to play Man City football or Liverpool football, but that’s hard on there. And you’ve got to have a big budget.

“I thought the boys played some good football when they could but we know how hard it is and we had to keep doing what we knew would get us the result in the end.

“It was a great goal from Dale. He took it so well and he meant it. He’s a clever footballer and it will be good to hopefully get a good pre-season into him and he’s only going to get better.”

Read more: Newport County 1 Morecambe 0 - match report from Rodney Parade