MIDFIELDER Lee Minshull believes Newport County AFC will be able to sustain a League Two promotion push this season.

Minshull is convinced that County have learned from the post-Christmas collapse that derailed their 2013/2014 campaign.

And he insists the current squad has what it takes to still be challenging for promotion in April and May.

The Exiles are up to sixth in the table after a run of one defeat in 17 League Two fixtures and are nine unbeaten following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Stevenage at Rodney Parade.

That victory leaves Justin Edinburgh’s men firmly in the play-off places in the build-up to Christmas, just as they were 12 months ago.

Asked what would be different this year, Minshull said: “The first thing is our squad depth, secondly the ground and the squad is in much better shape and also I think we won’t have as many injuries as we did last year.

“Hopefully all those factors will stand us in good stead for the second half of the season.

“It was a scrap against Stevenage but we’ve got bodies all over the pitch who will get stuck in,” he added.

“There’s a lot of desire there to get points on the board and we’re all pulling in the same direction. I’m enjoying it.”

Minshull admits the win over Graham Westley’s bruisers was not a classic but he says it shows how the club is progressing in only their second season in the Football League.

“It was a tough one and it wasn’t pretty at times but I think we deserved it,” said the 29-year-old, who helped create Aaron O’Connor’s opening goal before Darren Jones added the second.

“The ball was in the air a lot and we couldn’t really get hold of it but you get that first goal and it forces them to come out a bit and that allowed us to play in behind them.

“We knew they were going to come at us in the second half and I don’t think we gave them a lot at all to get excited about.

“If anything I thought we might get a third so it’s a pleasing professional performance all round and it sets us up nicely for next week.”

Next up is a trip to fourth-placed Luton Town, where the Exiles were beaten 4-2 in the FA Cup last month.

O’Connor is likely to miss the clash with his former club following his late red card at the weekend but Minshull is backing Chris Zebroski and Shaun Jeffers to shine.

“The red card does taint it a little bit but Azza’s been brilliant for us now he’s back to full fitness,” said Minshull.

“We’ll have Zeb back now and Shaun has come in and done really well so there is competition up front.”