EBBW Vale captain Ronny Kynes believes some teams are going to be in for a surprise when his troops finally hit their straps after a disappointing start to the new Principality Premiership season.

However, Newport will hope the Steelmen don’t click into gear when they go to Eugene Cross Park tomorrow (kick-off 2.30pm) in another eastern conference Gwent derby.

Ebbw were on the wrong end of a 20-12 scoreline at Gwent rivals Cross Keys last Saturday, a result which has left them bottom of the table with three games played.

Newport are only one point above them in the standings but the Black and Ambers head north buoyed by a thrilling 29-27 victory over Pontypridd.

That was a first win of the campaign for head coach Craig Warlow’s troops, who are now looking to kick on ahead of a trip to champions Merthyr next Saturday.

Giving his take on Ebbw’s start, Kynes said: “Everybody is writing us off at the moment but I think we will surprise a few teams if we keep working hard.

“We were disappointed to lose at Cross Keys, although how we lost I don’t know, but we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves.

“We’re not a million miles away, we just didn’t take our chances, like we didn’t against Pontypridd. But we’ve had a good week’s training and we’re looking forward to another derby.”

He added: “The good thing about the league now is that you can try different combinations and look to get your team right up until Christmas when the two divisions come together.”

As for Warlow, he was absolutely delighted to see his men get things right at Rodney Parade last time out.

Basic skills had been lacking in Newport’s opening two fixtures but there was a marked improvement as they eventually broke their duck.

“It was a good performance,” said Warlow. “We knew we had to perform well to beat Pontypridd.

“They were particularly sharp off turnover ball and their wingers caused us problems, and any mistakes we made were punished.

“But we managed to hold onto the ball and kept the pressure on for long periods.

“There were a lot of elements to our game which went well that hadn’t been so good the week before.

“The team needed that confidence boost.”

Warlow also confirmed that utility back Geraint O’Driscoll could return from injury to take his place in the Newport squad tomorrow.