Mike Flynn needs latest loan arrivals to breathe new life into Newport’s season as they host Carlisle

It is fair to say Newport County have made the most of the loan market in recent seasons. Ben White, Tyreeq Bakinson and Antoine Semenyo all had spells at Rodney Parade before establishing themselves further up the Football League pyramid, and they coincided with the success the Exiles have had in both league and cup under manager Michael Flynn.

Newport’s fantastic start to the current season was helped massively by the contributions of both Brandon Cooper and Scott Twine, who they borrowed from Swansea and Swindon respectively. However, both were re-called by their parent clubs at the start of the month, right in the middle of an eight match winless run for Flynn’s side that has seen them lose hold of top spot in League Two.

Newport’s locally-born manager has been vocal about the need to bring in players from the very start of the current transfer window, and new faces have steadily begun to arrive at Rodney Parade.

Now the Exiles need recent signings Luke Gambin, Jake Scrimshaw and Anthony Hartigan to be the next bunch of brilliant borrowed players in South Wales as they look to get their automatic promotion push back on track.

In the 3-2 defeat to Oldham at the weekend, both Gambin, on loan from Colchester, and Scrimshaw, a temporary addition from Bournemouth got on the scoresheet, with Gambin also setting up Scrimshaw’s goal, but it wasn’t enough to get their new side back to winning ways.

Despite the recent difficult run of form, and the loss of two of the standout players in the division, Flynn has been keen to stress that Newport are still having a great season and that further new arrivals could make it even better.

“We’re looking to get a few in to give us that little boost that we need to keep going.

“I want to win every game, I want to win football matches, but some of the players need to raise their game.

“I’ve been doing all I can to bring players in.”

– Newport County manager Michael Flynn

The pitch at Rodney Parade has been an issue throughout Flynn’s time at the club and it had a noticeable effect on the drab 0-0 draw with Salford in Newport’s last home game, but they’ll be hoping their new additions can overcome the conditions and help the Exiles to a first win since December 8th.

Midfielder Josh Sheehan remains suspended after being sent off in the Salford game, and Joss Labadie will not be available either after he was sent off in the defeat to Oldham on Saturday.

Visitors Carlisle have been unable to play a game since the very start of January due to both the weather and, more worryingly, a significant Covid-19 outbreak among their squad that meant they only returned to training last Thursday.

“We’ve been making sure the boys are active at home. The ones that are negative and can train outside under Government guidance have done that, the ones that are positive had to stay inside.

“On top of that we’ve had to organise where we’re going to train, because the snow has half surpassed and turned into floods.

“It’s just another challenge a Carlisle United manager has in terms of being ready to play a top team on the back end of not being able to play for so long.”

– Carlisle United manager Chris Beech

The lack of game-time makes it hard to know what to expect from Chris Beech’s side, but they were on a fine run of form before the New Year, winning five of the seven games leading up to their enforced break.

Midfielder Jon Mellish has been their standout performer so far in this campaign, scoring 12 goals across all competitions from central midfield, and although he missed the 2-0 win at Walsall in the Cumbrians last outing due to injury, he is expected to be fit for Tuesday’s game.

Carlisle were hot on the heels of Newport before their Covid outbreak, and although they have missed five league games in a row, they still sit in fourth place, only a point behind the hosts.

The 10-hour round trip from Cumbria to South Wales is one of the longest journeys Carlisle will make this season, and despite the difficulties they’ve faced in recent weeks, a win to move back into the automatic promotion places would no doubt make the trip home an enjoyable one.

Beech’s side walked away with a 3-2 win when the two teams met at Brunton Park in early November, and a similar result on Tuesday could see them move top of the league should other results go their way.