Newport head coach Nelson Jardim urged his players to “be positive and look forward” after they ended a difficult week with a much-needed 3-0 League Two home win against Harrogate.
Jardim demanded a reaction from his team after their 5-0 capitulation at Accrington in midweek and he got the response he was looking for.
Goals from Cameron Evans, Courtney Baker-Richardson and James Clarke enabled County to cruise to victory and put an end to Harrogate’s recent revival.
“The win means a lot for the club and also a lot for me,” said Jardim. “It was a tough week for everyone and the head coach always feels a stronger pain when the team loses in that way.
“It didn’t surprise me. We know this group of players very well and the reaction that they showed is what we expected.
“Now we can look forward and we have 46 points – 16 clear of relegation – and now we can really say that we are in the comfort zone that we spoke about in the first week of the season.
“We can be positive and look forward, we have nine games to go and lots of points to play for.”
Jardim admitted that his side were not at their best, but he was pleased with the spirit his players showed.
He added: “We still want more but we have that comfort and there are things that we need to improve in terms of our quality.
“It’s League Two. We needed a reaction and that win, while the team also showed we know how to play ugly when we need to.
“We are not happy with everything but I am very, very happy with the effort and the work of the players.”
Harrogate manager Simon Weaver was angered by the fact that all three goals came from corners – the first after just 90 seconds.
“It’s really disappointing,” he said. “We worked on all their routines and went through each individual’s role, but defensively from corners, we didn’t turn up.
“Credit to them; I knew that there’d be a reaction to the other night and a passionate response from Newport.
“They’re similar to us – one of the smaller clubs in this division – and we knew, when their backs were against the wall, they’d come out fighting.
“They got hammered 5-0 and the reaction from their perspective was very good.”
The Sulphurites are 10 points clear of the bottom two in 21st, but Weaver knows they are not safe yet.
“We’ve got to react now and I’d be very surprised if we don’t do that,” he added. “Hopefully the supporters are with us and cheering us on, because we’re in a dogfight.”
