THE transfer deadline day was a damp squib for Newport County AFC but that shouldn’t worry Exiles supporters at all.

I spent just over 12 hours manning the live deadline day blog on the Argus website with only Matt Taylor’s unsurprising departure to report so I can share fans’ frustrations.

As Warren Feeney says, however, the transfer window is simply less and less important the lower down the football pyramid you go.

It didn’t help that the Trust revealed the news yesterday lunchtime that the club has banked around £400,000 from Conor Washington’s move to Queens Park Rangers – and that sum could double in time.

With the Trust statement stating that the majority of the money will be reinvested it undoubtedly raised expectations that Feeney might splash the cash.

But Feeney told the Argus last week that the days of County paying transfer fees are over. For now at least.

When Euromillions lottery winner Les Scadding was chairman he allowed then-manager Justin Edinburgh to pay fees for the likes of Washington, Christian Jolley and Joe Day.

County paid over the odds for Day, and still owe Peterborough, but they did get a quality goalkeeper.

And history tells us that the other two deals were money well spent.

Jolley’s goals, including one on that memorable day at Wembley, helped Edinburgh’s men clinch promotion.

Washington has repaid that initial outlay many times over thanks to the initial £150,000 transfer fee received when he left for Peterborough in January 2014.

And again with that 20 per cent sell-on fee secured by Tim Harris and Howard Greenhaf.

County will hope that Aaron Collins’ sale to Wolverhampton Wanderers will work out the same way.

But they won’t be paying silly fees for anyone and that can only be a good thing for the long-term stability of the club.

The stated intention to replicate the Exeter City model and split the income between the playing budget, working capital and the academy is a welcome move.

And, as far as strengthening the squad to ensure that the club remains in the Football League, there was no need for Feeney to be scrambling around before last night’s 11pm deadline.

Any players coming in are likely to be free agents that can be signed whether the transfer window is open or indeed ‘slammed’ shut.

And the loan window opens again next week, giving Feeney another chance to bring in reinforcements.

Also, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Feeney did bring in seven players in January.

The likes of Darren Jones, Ben Davies and Conor Wilkinson look like astute signings and have already improved the squad.

And the big plus was that, despite rumoured interest in Mark Byrne, there were no last-minute departures for any of County’s key men.

Like most of his teammates, the skipper is out of contract in the summer and could well move on then but for now he’s committed to helping County stay in League Two.

Feeney has spoken of his belief in the squad that he has put together and he can now concentrate on matters on the pitch and making sure the cushion above the bottom two is maintained.

The victory at Morecambe on Saturday gave everyone a lift and once again showed that County are a match for most teams in the division on the road.

And this month provides them with a chance to improve a lamentable record at Rodney Parade.

It’s hard to believe that County fans have seen just one home win in the league this season and only two in the past 12 months.

That’s a situation that can’t be allowed to go on any longer because many fans only watch their side at home.

County’s five away wins in League Two this season have been witnessed by a combined total of fewer than 1,000 members of the amber army.

There are some supporters who have not seen the Exiles win for over a year and that is bound to have an effect on attendances.

You only have to look at the crowd of just 2,323 for the most recent home match against Dagenham & Redbridge to see that.

The visits of Barnet, Carlisle United and Mansfield Town this month all look eminently winnable.

And, yes, County have failed to win plenty of eminently winnable fixtures in the past year.

But that has to change sooner rather than later, surely?

If not the crowds will continue to dwindle.

Judging by the state of the pitch at the end of Newport Gwent Dragons’ win over Leinster last Friday night there won’t be a lot of pretty football on show.

But the fans will accept some back to basics stuff if it brings results in the short-term and keeps County in the League.

Feeney’s men proved at Morecambe that they can win in the most difficult of conditions and they have to make a virtue of a less than perfect playing surface and use it to their advantage.

Because the long-suffering home fans deserve to leave Rodney Parade with smiles on their faces once in a while.