NEWPORT County AFC manager John Sheridan says his side have proved that they can compete with anyone in League Two and he insists today’s test at Accrington Stanley holds no fears.

Impressive wins at Wycombe Wanderers and Bristol Rovers and a draw with Northampton Town in their last three league matches have seen County climb off the bottom of the table and up to 21st.

And Sheridan says that unbeaten run has given his players the belief that they can match anybody – including fourth-placed Accrington at the Crown Ground this afternoon.

“Accrington are a really good team and they’re playing with lots of confidence,” said the Exiles boss.

“We’ve had them watched and they’re very fluent in the way they play.

“They’re brave on the ball and they’re like the Red Arrows – they come at you from all angles.

“John Coleman is a manager who I know really well and I like him. He knows this league and he’s got his team playing really well.

“They play really good football and young Josh Windass is a threat.

“He’s scoring goals and they’ve got one or two decent players who play with freedom.

“They are a hard team to play against and it will be a good test for us.

“But any team can beat anyone in this division,” he added.

“We proved that ourselves in the last month or so. We’ve played three of the top seven and I wouldn’t say they were any better than us.

“It’s just about belief and winning games gives you that belief.

“We’ve just got to try to stay on this run we’re on because that gives you confidence.

“We know how we play and how we want to play and I think the players know their roles in the team now, what I’m trying to bring and what will hopefully get us higher up this division.”

Sheridan’s anger after last week’s 2-2 FA Cup draw at Brackley Town has subsided and he says his team are steadily improving.

“We’re on a decent run – we’re four unbeaten – and we’ve scored eight goals in our last three away games so we’re doing something right,” he said.

“We’re going to try to disrupt Accrington but I want us to be positive and believe that we can go and win the game.

“We’re picking points up from each game and that’s what we’re after.

“The players have done well for me since I’ve come in,” he added.

“They’ve responded well and hopefully we’ve got a little bit of confidence now that we can perform against anybody.

“We’ve had some tough games – Wycombe, Bristol and Northampton are three teams who are doing well in this division and we’ve competed well.

“You’re always looking at teams above you when you’re at the bottom and Accrington is another tough one but we’ll go there and have a go.”