Newport County players left the Rodney Parade pitch accompanied by the Great Escape theme music after their win against Yeovil, while home fans chanted: “We are staying up.”
But manager Mike Flynn, preparing his team for their Bank Holiday clash with Plymouth Argyle at Home Park, has warned: “It’s not time to bask in happiness yet.”
County are second from bottom, one point behind Hartlepool United and two off Cheltenham Town. Yeovil are now only four points clear of the relegation zone.
“It’s a huge result and we have now pulled Yeovil right into it as-well,” said Flynn.
“We’ve clawed back 10 points from eight games, it’s a huge effort from the players and they have been absolutely outstanding.”
Flynn insists his Newport team will be going for a win against Argyle, who need one point to clinch promotion.
If County could earn a fourth successive victory they would move out of the bottom two for the first time since November.
“Let’s hope Argyle go for a point,” says Flynn. “We’re going down there to get three points.
“We’re full of respect for Plymouth, they’re a good team with good management and they’re within touching distance of League One now.
“Good luck to them but I’m hoping they’ll have to wait another week before they can celebrate.
“We’ve got to keep going and hopefully we can get out of the bottom two on Monday.”
The match against Plymouth (3pm) is the fifth meeting between the clubs this season.
Newport have yet to win after playing Argyle in the Checkatrade Trophy, FA Cup (0-0 draw and replay) plus League Two.
“We’ve had some good battles against Plymouth and always come up short,” says the Newport manager.
“Let’s hope we go a little bit further and get three points down there. That would be huge.
“It would be a massive achievement for the boys and it would send out a real statement.”
Defender Mark O’Brien is rated doubtful after being taken ill during the win against Yeovil.
“I think we will need to think about a couple of changes to freshen it up a little bit,” said Flynn.
“Mark O’Brien was sick. He couldn’t stop vomiting.
“He’s been outstanding for us but I’ll never put a player’s health at risk and I think it was a sensible decision.”
O’Brien was replaced by Sean Rigg, back from an ankle injury, and Flynn was happy with his contribution, saying: “It was a positive to have Riggy back and I thought he was outstanding when he came on.
“He relieves pressure in a different way because he’s a ball carrier and he gets us up the park.
“He wins free-kicks and allows us to take a deep breath, regroup and reorganise. He’s crucial for us.”
Newport will again be without Joss Labadie, who completes his three-match ban.
League Two table – bottom five only
All teams play 46 matches
Pl GD Pts
20 Yeovil Town 42 -14 46
21 Cheltenham Town 42 -14 44
22 Hartlepool United 42 -18 43
23 Newport County 42 -18 42
24 Leyton Orient 42 -34 33
Remaining fixtures:
Newport: v Plymouth (away), Accrington (home), Carlisle (away), Notts County (home).
Hartlepool: Orient (away), Barnet (home), Cheltenham (away), Doncaster (home).
Cheltenham: Grimsby (home), Blackpool (away), Portsmouth (away).
Yeovil: Crewe (home), Grimsby (away), Stevenage (home), Colchester (away).
