Manager Michael Flynn says Newport County AFC will have to be ready for a tough battle at Forest Green Rovers as he prepares his squad to face a team sitting towards the top of the League Two table for the third weekend in succession.
Mark Cooper’s side sit third in the current standings after accumulating ten points from the opening 15 available, including a perfect 100% record at The New Lawn with two 1-0 wins from as many games.
County aren’t too far behind the Nailsworth outfit when residing in fifth, one point behind Rovers, and the Exiles will be looking to extend the club record unbeaten Football League run which currently stands at 15 matches.
And Flynn says facing Plymouth Argyle and Crewe Alexandra while they were atop of the division means the Exiles will be well geared for another tough test against Forest Green.
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He affirmed: “Forest Green Rovers are a very good team. They reached the play-offs last season and changed their squad slightly.
"I think they’ve gone younger; more pace and it’s going to be a tough game. If we’re on it, we’ve got a good chance of winning it, if we’re not then we’ll probably come home empty handed.
"We’ve got to keep them quiet. Whoever Forest Green choose to play; we’ve got to make sure we’re ready for them. We can’t give them any opportunities.
"We’re going to win the game, it’s as simple as that. You want to get as many points on the board as you can as quickly as possible. It’s a tough league and I can’t see one weak team, especially at this early stage. There’s no gimmes in League Two this season and there wasn’t last season either – but it is more competitive."
The Exiles always take a good following to one of the shorter trips of the campaign and the record currently stands at 1,039 for the Boxing Day fixture in 2012 which County won 2-1 thanks to goals from Ben Swallow and Ryan Charles.
In the two seasons since Rovers were promoted to the Football League, County have taken away followings just shy of that four-figure number – 815 in 2017/18 and 964 last season.
Flynn says the support was fantastic on Tuesday night for the Carabao Cup tie with Premier League heavyweights West Ham United and he wants the Amber Army to travel in their numbers tomorrow to create another loud atmosphere.
He continued: “The fans the other night were superb. It was a fantastic atmosphere and seeing nearly 6,500 over Rodney Parade on a Tuesday night is a great turnout.
“I’m very pleased and thankful to the fans for that and I’m sure it’ll be a big following on the weekend. I’m sure they’ll be making a lot of noise.”