THE released and retained list will rarely mean more to fans than it does to Newport County supporters this summer.

For while there is a general acceptance that new boss Terry Butcher is right to follow his instincts and look to build his own squad, there can be no disputing the significance of the group of players who will cease to be Exiles after June 30.

There is no need to scramble for superlatives or to try and contextualise the legacy of this group, because it is simple enough, most of those departing Rodney Parade will be remembered as the men who ended 25-years of hurt and despair for Newport as they battled to return to the Football League.

For context, let’s recap quickly the starting XI who played in Justin Edinburgh’s first game, a 3-0 home reverse to Southport that ensured County remained second from bottom in the Conference.

Glyn Thompson, Paul Rodgers, Lee Baker, Wayne Hatswell, Gary Warren, Tom Miller, Danny Rose, Tommy Doherty, Elliott Buchanan, Nat Jarvis, Craig McAllister.

The club was overhauled entirely by Edinburgh and his team and some of the true heroes and lynchpins of County’s rise and rise deserve to be recognised.

The least surprising of all the departures, goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley will certainly be remembered as one of the true heroes of County’s promotion.

While it is easy to recall the goalscoring exploits of O’Connor and Christian Jolley, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Pidgeley incredibly kept three successive clean sheets in the play-offs, including a man of the match performance in the final.

Pidgeley was part of County’s south east connection, sometimes referred to by Exiles fans as the London mafia.

However, it proved a very fruitful connection, as proven by defender Ismail Yakubu, midfielders Max Porter and Lee Minshull and utility man Robbie Willmott.

Yakubu has been consistently excellent for Newport, if a little susceptible to injuries and the same is true of Willmott, a player who improved ten-fold during his tenure in South Wales.

Porter, injuries aside, is as good a holding midfielder as you’ll find at this level of football and Minshull is simply everything you want from a player, full heart, 100% effort and endeavour and a never say die attitude. It seems surprising in the extreme that Butcher doesn’t fancy him.

Michael Flynn will hopefully remain on staff and hasn’t played as much as he should, but his return to the club was extremely significant and his efforts also can’t be ignored.

And then there is Mr Controversy, Aaron O’Connor. He’s had more rows on Twitter than Piers Morgan and has also endured injury woe, but O’Connor has been Newport’s sharpest attacking tool for a number of years and was instrumental in not just their promotion, but superb finish in League Two this term.

We should also mention Kyle Patten and Jamie Stephens, extremely unlucky to be jettisoned when one factors their potential with their relatively low wages.

But the decisions have been made and County are set to begin a new era with new personnel.

Which means all we are left to do, is say thanks for the memories to those departing. You changed Newport County AFC forever and for that, we’re truly grateful.