NEWPORT County AFC manager Terry Butcher will now turn his attention to building the spine of his team having captured the flair players he believes will excite the fans.

Butcher took his tally of new signings to eight on Thursday with the additions of ex-Yeovil pair Nathan Ralph and Seth Nana Twumasi, as well as winger Medy Elito from Dutch club VVV Venlo.

All three have agreed one year-contracts at Rodney Parade and it is the arrival of former Dagenham & Redbridge ace Elito, and that of fellow winger Alex Rodman, that has pleased the Exiles boss most.

“Medy is a high quality player who can win a game for you,” said the Exiles boss.

“He can play as a striker as well and will dovetail well with Lenell John-Lewis.

“I asked the fans for their patience and it is a long process when you want to bring a lot of players in,” he added.

“Exciting flair players like Medy are the ones that go quickly so we’re delighted to have got him.

“Now we’ll look to strengthen the spine of the team.”

With pre-season training beginning on Monday Butcher has 16 fit players to work with, plus Andrew Hughes and the club’s under-18s.

He will target centre-backs, central midfielders and strikers between now and August and will also look to bring in loan players from the likes of Cardiff City and Swansea City.

“These things take their time but we’ve not spent our budget yet,” he said.

“We’ve done a lot of checking and cross-checking on players and so far the ones who have come in we’re very happy with.

“These are players that we would have taken to Inverness and if they’re good enough for the Scottish Premier League then they’re good enough for Newport County.

“And they’ve all shown a real desire to come here and join the revolution.”

And Butcher says the fact that all of his signings, apart from striker Lenell John-Lewis, are on one-year contracts is a positive.

“Lenell is on a two-year deal but all the others are one-year,” he said.

“That gives them an incentive to perform and if they start well we will be extending contracts.

“There is a risk on both sides because it could mean that they do well and take the chance to move on next summer.

“But we don’t want to over-extend ourselves because we all know that we need to cut our cloth accordingly.”