EXILES BOSS STARTS PLANNING FOR NEXT SEASON AFTER DEFEAT

NEWPORT County manager James Rowberry admits he is starting to plan for next season after a fourth successive home defeat effectively ended the Exiles’ hopes of making the League Two play-offs.

County went down 2-1 to lowly Colchester United on a desperately disappointing Friday night at Rodney Parade.

League Two top scorer Dom Telford ended a 10-game goal drought with his 26th of the season to put the hosts 1-0 up on 40 minutes and striker Rob Street was also denied a penalty before the break.

But Colchester substitute John Akinde levelled moments after coming on in the 68th minute when Freddie Sears’ shot hit the striker and wrong-footed County goalkeeper Joe

Day. And Akinde then turned provider for Noah Chilvers to sweep home the winner on 77 minutes.

“It’s disappointing,” said Rowberry. “Ultimately, we’ve let ourselves down with individual errors that cost us the goals.

“Tactically, they’ve not done anything to break us down or hurt us, it’s just individual errors that cost us.

“I thought our first half was excellent and our second half wasn’t. And, in many ways, that’s the story of my time here – we can’t really put two halves together.

“Ultimately, it wasn’t good enough.”

Rowberry’s men have collected just four points from the last 21 available to leave them facing another year in the fourth tier.

“It’s not ideal,” said Rowberry, when asked about the collapse in form at just the wrong time of the season.

“When you look at it in the cold light of day, it’s not great.

“But I’ve got to look at it from a transitional period of where we’re at, what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to achieve, and I believe we’re on target for that.

“I’m learning a lot about individuals and characters and what we need to try to achieve to move forward.

“I think then, the thoughts come into next season and what we need to try and do, what we need to recruit build and develop and enhance.

“I ultimately reflect on myself, and you hope that players reflect on themselves as well, which I’m sure they will.

“It’s a very disappointed dressing room,” he added.

“We need the fans behind us, we need everybody behind us.

“We’re building for hopefully what is a bright future for this football club. I’m directly responsible for that, ultimately.

“I have to keep driving that forward, and I will.

“I’ve got to keep moving the football club forward in a direction that the chairman and the board want me to take it, and I want to take it.

“We’re in that period of trying to transition styles and ways of working and it’s my responsibility to keep driving that forward.”