Newport County's trip to Gillingham last weekend saw the Exiles surrender an 85th minute lead before conceding nine minutes into stoppage time to fall to a 3–2 defeat. Despite the late collapse, manager Christian Fuchs felt his side's overall performance did not merit coming away with nothing. Fuchs was encouraged by the control and momentum his team showed for large spells but was equally clear about the areas that continue to hold Newport back.
Newport County's trip to Gillingham last weekend saw the Exiles surrender an 85th minute lead before conceding nine minutes into stoppage time to fall to a 3–2 defeat.
Despite the late collapse, manager Christian Fuchs felt his side's overall performance did not merit coming away with nothing.
"We can be happy with what we showed performance-wise. Things are developing in the right way," he said.
"Based on the reaction of the opposition and the fans, it is clear that they had a hard time.
"You can tell the boys are disappointed when they don't win."
Fuchs was encouraged by the control and momentum his team showed for large spells but was equally clear about the areas that continue to hold Newport back.
"At the end of the day, we're standing here again playing well, getting compliments, but not getting the points," he said.
"We need to find more consistency in our game."
The Austrian stressed that Newport's route off the bottom of League Two will depend on doing the "basics of football" well.
"We need to address the dips in performance across the 90 minutes. That's just not good enough," he said.
"You can play well, but you cannot forget the basics: defensive work, reactions when you lose the ball, winning your duels, first balls, second balls. Football is a fighting sport."
Fuchs believes Newport's best moments often come when they play with urgency and edge, something he wants to see from the first whistle.
"If it takes us being desperate, then we probably need to start the game desperate, as if we're one goal down," he said.
"If we do not show the fight, which the opposition did in the last 10 minutes, where there was only one team playing, it could have been easily a point again."
Despite the frustration, Fuchs remains convinced the squad can begin to climb the table
"Looking at the team and being able to work with them, I am convinced we have amazing quality," he said.
"The only thing we can do is to keep pushing forward."
Newport will have a chance to put points on the board as they welcome Chesterfield to Rodney Parade on Saturday 24 January (15:00 GMT)
Category: General Sports
