AN emotional Jimmy Dack says he hopes new boss Terry Butcher can continue the progress that Newport County AFC have experienced under him and Justin Edinburgh over the last four years.

Former England skipper Butcher was unveiled as Edinburgh’s permanent replacement on Friday and watched from the stands at Rodney Parade as Dack’s farewell match ended in a 1-0 home defeat to Oxford United.

Kemar Roofe’s stunning strike on 30 minutes was the difference and County were up against it once they were reduced to ten men following Mike Flynn’s red card for a reckless tackle on the stroke of half-time.

It wasn’t the way that Dack, previously Edinburgh’s assistant at County, wanted to say goodbye.

“That was hard for me,” he said after receiving a standing ovation from the Exiles fans. “I’m quite an emotional guy as it is but that was tough. The fans were brilliant and I just hope they get their hopes and dreams.

“It’s been like my home for four years. The club will move on and I’ll move on but they’ll always have a place in my heart.

“And I hope I can come back and get a good welcome.”

Dack is hopeful that Butcher can improve on this season’s ninth-place finish in League Two.

“Terry is coming in to take this club forward and hopefully he can do that,” he said.

“I hope he’s the right man. I met him yesterday and he seems like a really nice guy and he’s probably just what the club needs.

“I wish him all the best and I hope he has four years as good as I’ve had.

"He'll have a lot of people supporting him and backing him and if he can keep this group of players together then they're not a million miles away," he added. "I feel they'll get that bit closer next year.

"Terry will have his own ideas but from my perspective this group is not a million miles away.

"Probably we lack a goalscorer; someone to go alongside Aaron O'Connor and get some goals.

"I just hope the progress goes on now. I'm not one of those who want it to end because I've gone."