NEWPORT County AFC manager John Sheridan says today’s clash with fellow strugglers Yeovil Town is an opportunity for his side to prove they can avoid a grim season-long struggle to beat the drop.

County sit 21st in the League Two table – two places and four points above their opponents – and Yeovil’s Wales under-21 international Connor Roberts has already labelled this game a ’six-pointer’.

Exiles boss Sheridan doesn’t go that far but he knows that three points this afternoon will ease those relegation fears and, with his side on a run of six games without defeat, he’s confident of success.

“There’s a lot at stake for both teams,” he said.

“Yeovil are in and around where we are so we could gain a little advantage with a positive result.

“There is a long way to go but it would give us a bit more belief if we get the win.

“We can just gain that little bit more ground on them but I can see it going right to the wire – it’s going to be very tight.”

Sheridan expects the battle at the bottom to go down to the wire and he’s desperate for his team to get clear of it as soon as possible.

But he also wants his players to have the confidence to aim for more than mere survival.

“I don’t want us to be a team who are comfortable to finish fifth or sixth from bottom,” said Sheridan.

“I want us to push on and improve and that’s why I am the way I am.

“I want us to always be better and I want my players to feel that we’re better than where we are in the league.

“I want us to finish as high as possible and we need to get as many points as we can on board early.

“We don’t want it to go deep into the season being around where we are – we want to try to get out of it as soon as we can.

“I looked at the first seven games when I came in and from where we were – bottom of the table – they did look difficult on paper,” he added.

“But I think we’ve come out of them really well and possibly should have had more points.

“From where we were in the league I think it’s a great response.”

Not that Sheridan is expecting an easy day against the Glovers.

“It will be a tough game – they’re a better team than the league shows,” he said.

“I’ve seen Yeovil’s last three games and they’ve been excellent but the results haven’t gone their way.

“I’ve got a lot of time for Paul Sturrock and I expect him to get them out of the situation they’re in.”