Newport County

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Manchester United are cutting short two of their young players' loan stints and are ruminating over a third.

Defender Sonny Aljofree has already come back from League Two Notts County, while England youth goalkeeper Elyh Harrison will also leave Shrewsbury.

Aljofree made 11 appearances, including 10 starts for Notts County at the start of the season but the 21-year-old has not featured since the end of September.

Harrison started the campaign as first choice at Shrewsbury, making seven appearances, but also lost his place in September.

The 19-year-old was on the bench for Monday's defeat at Grimsby and United's intention is to bring him back to the club.

Discussions are continuing over the short-term plan for 20-year-old defender Habeeb Ogunneye, who has made 21 appearances in all competitions for League Two strugglers Newport but has not featured since the FA Cup defeat at non-league Boreham Wood on 7 December.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport County manager Christian Fuchs says it is "time to build the momentum" after his first win in charge of the League Two club.

The Exiles had lost four and drawn three all-competition games under the Austrian before Tuesday's 2-0 home victory against Crewe Alexandra.

Newport's fourth league victory of the campaign saw them move off the bottom of the table and just one point away from rising out of the relegation zone.

"When you look at the last six games that we played, we had two losses but we also had three draws and six points overall, so there's a lot of good things happening here," said Fuchs, declaring himself proud of his side's performance.

"They stuck together, they stayed patient off the ball, they did their job really well and then were always waiting to break them."

The 39-year-old former Leicester City defender was particularly pleased with back-to-back clean sheets in the league for the first time this season, having also played out a goalless draw with Barnet at Rodney Parade on 26 December.

"Everybody was like, OK, against Barnet, a clean sheet - top, right? And today, you felt it coming somehow and you should not forget we have two clean sheets against teams that are way higher up the table than we are, and we just played really well," added Fuchs.

"The boys believe in themselves. I think now we've built the confidence, and it's time also now to build the momentum."

County face an even bigger challenge next with a New Year's Day fixture away at second placed Bromley.

However, it remains unclear whether he will be able to call on the services of Sammy Braybrooke and Nathan Opoku for the trip to south east London.

Initial loan deals for the two Leicester City players expire on 31 December but Fuchs is hoping they can be extended.

"We'll find out very soon," he said.

"A player like Sammy Braybrooke obviously is a top player for us and an ambitious player as well. So we'll see what's going to happen. We definitely want him here."

The 21-year-old former England age-grade international, who scored his second goal in three games in the victory over Crewe, has said he is keen to stay at Newport into 2026 to help in the fight against League Two relegation.

Opuku, who was a late substitute in Tuesday night's victory, is also keen to stay according to the County boss.

"Nathan wants to be here definitely. I think today he's shown again he comes on and he's right away a threat for the opposition," said Fuchs.

"He's just stirring it up and has very good movement off the ball. He's very creative, he's just a threat in behind as well.

"So Nathan, I hope we will see him here again in 2026, a similar situation, it's going to be resolved over the next two days."

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Newport boss Christian Fuchs is confident that he can "turn the season around" despite still searching for his first win as manager.

The Exiles come into a busy festive period having only picked up two points in Fuchs' first five games in charge, with County still firmly rooted to the bottom of League Two.

"It's been a little bit of a rollercoaster, to be honest. A rollercoaster of emotions", said the Austrian, reflecting on his first month in charge.

"We've had some really good performances where I definitely think we could've walked away with more points overall and then there were some moments that were not good at all."

Newport are still looking for their first home win since their 3-0 victory against Harrogate in March, a run that will reach 286 days if they fail to win against Barnet on 26 December.

"Since I came in what we've worked on most of the time is building confidence" said Fuchs after being asked about Newport's home form.

"The boys have low confidence, maybe things don't go so well or don't come off so well the way they would when they're full of confidence."

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Newport County's League Two game at Swindon Town is to be played on Wednesday, 11 February (20:00 GMT) after the original fixture was postponed because of the Robins' progress in the FA Cup.

The Exiles had been due to go to the County Ground on Friday, 9 January, but Swindon will be in cup action at Salford that weekend.

Despite the new date, Newport's trip to Swindon will be shown live on Sky Sports as planned.

Swindon have had an impressive season so far, they are currently 2nd in League Two and through to the third round of the FA Cup after beating League One side Bolton Wanderers 4-0 on 6 December.

Newport have not enjoyed the same kind of success, they are bottom of League Two and were knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 3-0 to Boreham Wood two weeks ago.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

BBC Sport asked Newport County fans their festive wishes this Christmas for the struggling League Two side.

Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Colchester United means Christian Fuchs' side are still bottom of League Two - five points from safety.

Here's what County fans are asking for this Christmas:

Rob: Points.

Mark: I'm so frustrated. It's so obvious what needs to be done but [Chairman] Huw Jenkins is like a ball and chain dragging us down. He is the worst chairman County have had. Self inflicted wounds. Incredible.

Carl: We are where we have no money. Let's give the younger element a go, they can't be any worse than what we have at the moment. Let's hope the new year fairy gives a couple of players, it's hard to keep your spirits up with the trap door ever creaking and open ajar but we have made the great escape before - albeit not as good as the movie - fingers crossed and praying.

Joe: We replaced an inexperienced manager with an equally inexperienced manager and got the same result. We needed someone to create a siege mentality at the club and get the team to dig in. I fear the worst.

Kevin: All I want for Christmas is a new owner.

Jim: We are desperate now Jenkins has to gamble in January.

Image source, BBC Sport

Newport County's new boss Christian Fuchs is still waiting for his first win in charge after they were outclassed by Colchester United.

Saturday's 4-1 defeat at the JobServe Community Stadium means the Exiles have picked up just two points from his first five league games in charge and remain anchored firmly at the foot of League Two.

The former Austria and Leicester City defender also oversaw a 3-0 FA Cup second round loss away to non-league Boreham Wood.

An established wisdom in football is that the appointment of a new manager usually creates a temporary 'bounce' in performances and results - have Newport fans been able to see any indications of recovery so far?

A criticism levelled at former boss David Hughes was that he lacked experience as a first-team manager, but is the appointment of Fuchs a departure from that?

Should there be more patience as Fuchs tries to turn things around, or has the club ownership merely replaced like for like and must now look in another direction?

Is the fault instead with the current playing squad and is an emergency overhaul needed when the January transfer window opens?

With a busy festive period abut to kick in, Newport host mid-table Barnet on 26 December (15:00 GMT) before another home game against promotion-chasing Crewe Alexandra the following Monday (19:30 GMT).

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Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Since Christian Fuchs' arrival at Newport County, a depleted Exiles side have been on a five-game winless run in all competitions, leaving them four points adrift at the bottom of League Two and still searching for a first home league victory of the season.

In recent weeks, however, County have been bolstered by the returns to fitness of Matt Smith, Matt Baker and Liam Shepherd, while Nathaniel Opoku has also resumed training this week.

As a result, Fuchs says he has a "completely different squad available" as Newport prepare for a trip to Colchester on Saturday.

"Now we're almost full [as a squad]. This gives me a lot of opportunities, flexibility maybe to try a couple of things," Fuchs added.

"Everybody is on board, everybody wants to push forward to get us in a better place."

"The boys are doing pretty well, showing a lot of enthusiasm and that's what you want as a coach."

Talks continue with Leicester about extending the loans of Opoku and Sammy Braybrooke, with Fuchs keen to keep them for the remainder of the season.

The only player expected to miss the Colchester trip is Gerard Garner, who is set to be sidelined for a couple of weeks with the muscle injury he sustained against Fleetwood.

Despite being winless since taking charge, Fuchs remains confident his side can turn their season around.

"The next game for us is always the most important one," he added.

"Honestly, I know what's at stake, but I think the team has more than enough potential to turn everything around."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Manager Christian Fuchs is to hold additional transfer talks with Newport County chairman Huw Jenkins this week after stating his side "need some support".

The Exiles are determined to bolster their ranks in January, with experience among the key traits they are searching for as they look to climb off the bottom of League Two.

And Fuchs says injuries to Gerard Garner and Nathan Opoku could alter the club's plans for the upcoming window.

"The talks are starting. We need to look at how Ged and Nathan are doing," Fuchs said in the wake of his side's 2-0 loss to Fleetwood Town.

"Going forwards, the games still come thick and fast and we need to make sure that we are covered in every position.

"We have Sheps (Liam Shephard) coming back soon, he is back in training.

"It was good to see Matt Smith out there [against Fleetwood], which helps us definitely."

Fuchs has been in regular contact with Jenkins since being named as Dave Hughes' successor at Rodney Parade in November.

And the Austrian says Newport have already identified where they need to strengthen.

"We need some support. We've identified that already, but again, it's still early," he added.

"More conversations will happen this week."

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Former Wales striker Iwan Roberts believes Newport County must drastically transform their home form if they are to stand any chance of avoiding relegation from League Two this season.

The Exiles are winless in their 10 league matches at Rodney Parade so far in 2025-26, claiming just two points from the 30 on offer in those home fixtures.

Newport's latest home reverse came as they were beaten 2-0 by Fleetwood last weekend, which left them four points adrift of safety at the foot of the table.

"This home run is a real worry. They haven't won at Rodney Parade [in the league] since March when they beat Harrogate," he told BBC Radio Cymru.

"They haven't won in their last 13 and they're four points behind Harrogate, who are third from bottom in League Two.

"I watched them [in the FA Cup earlier this month] at Boreham Wood. They were poor. To think Boreham Wood are in the National League, Boreham Wood were much the better side.

"They had a good point at Crewe, a 2-2 draw away from home.

"But this home record is a worry for Newport. If they're going to stay up, they have to sort that problem in the second half of the season."

Christian Fuchs' side return to action at mid-table Colchester United on Saturday (15:00 GMT) before hosting Barnet and Crewe Alexandra in their final two matches of 2025.

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Newport County head coach Christian Fuchs says the return of Wales international Matt Smith from injury will add an "extra layer of quality" to their midfield.

The 26-year-old has been out since late August, but returned on Saturday as 10-man County were beaten 2-0 at home by Fleetwood.

Defeat means Newport are still without a home league win this season, and they remain rooted to the bottom of the League Two table.

Despite the loss, Fuchs praised his side's effort - particularly after Michael Spellman's red card - and said how pleased he was to have Smith back.

"He's a good player, unfortunately he was out for a bit but I'm so pleased he's back," said Fuchs.

"He gives us an extra layer of confidence and quality in midfield which we need.

"The effort is absolutely there, now it's about keeping spirits high."

While Newport are boosted by Smith's return, the Exiles are set to be without Gerard Garner and Nathaniel Opoku after the forwards both suffered muscle injuries.

"It doesn't look too good unfortunately," said Fuchs.

"Nathan will have a scan on Monday to see how severe the injury is.

"Ged may be out for a couple weeks, so we will work with what we have."

Image source, Huw Evans Agency

Newport County boss Christian Fuchs wants to move fast to secure January signings for their bid for League Two survival.

The former Leicester and Austria defender was appointed as manager in November after David Hughes was sacked.

Newport are bottom of League Two, four points from safety, and hunt a first home win of the season against Fleetwood this afternoon (15:00 GMT).

County then have a break until a hectic run of five games in 16 days starts at Colchester on Saturday, 20 December.

Fuchs will hope the club are in a stronger position in the table by the time the transfer window opens on 1 January, allowing him to bolster the squad before the 2 February deadline..

"We are looking at certain positions where we definitely want to bring some new players in, also players that we want to keep," said the 2016 Premier League winner.

"It's early stages. There have been some conversations, but nothing more than that."

Fuchs said that talks have started about extending the stays of Leicester loanees Sammy Braybrooke and Nathan Opoku, while he has been looking at footage of potential signings.

"We need to move fairly fast because we want to bring them in as soon as possible so that they can train with us and be amongst the team, then push forward starting from January," he said.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Newport County manager Christian Fuchs believes his side have shown they have the fighting spirit to break their Rodney Parade duck against Fleetwood on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

County are bottom of League Two, four points from safety, but showed grit to draw 2-2 at Crewe on Wednesday night.

Three days after producing an insipid performance as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Boreham Wood 3-0, the Exiles fought back from going a goal behind twice and levelled in added time through Cameron Antwi's deflected shot.

That was despite being a man down because of Courtney Baker-Richardson's harsh dismissal for two yellow cards – a sending off that County cannot appeal – to leave Fuchs encouraged.

"Since I came in the one thing that I needed to address right away was the mindset of the players," said Fuchs, who replaced David Hughes last month.

"The one thing that happened many times before would be that after conceding there would be no fight or resilience. After the red card and when we went down 2-1, the team has shown a different face. They didn't want to give up.

"That was a game of character. The day before we had a very good conversation as a group where we addressed many things and honest words were spoken.

"The important part was that words are cheap, but we followed up with actions with phenomenal resilience and character."

Newport have not won on home soil since beating Harrogate 3-0 on 15 March.

They ended 2024-25 with five winless games on their ground and that run has stretched to 18 in all competitions, although they did beat Gillingham on penalties in the FA Cup.

Last time out they were denied victory in Fuchs' first Rodney Parade fixture by a late Barrow equaliser, and an even later decision not to award a penalty.

After seeing his team dig deep at Gresty Road, Fuchs says his side must not let standards slip.

"There were great feelings coming off after hard work but we need to continue that momentum," he said. "At home against Fleetwood, we need to keep going.

"Fans saw the spirit in the team and that is something everybody can hang on to. It's our responsibility now to continue on that path.

"You need to earn the right to win and even be in the game, it doesn't come served on a silver plate."