DEFENDER Darren Jones admits the players haven’t been working hard enough as Newport County AFC have slipped back down the League Two table in recent weeks.

County halted a run of six straight defeats with a much-improved display to earn a 1-1 draw at home to promotion hopefuls Oxford United on Tuesday night.

And they head to Luton Town today knowing that a draw – or anything less than a win for York City at Accrington Stanley – will ensure they remain in the Football League for another season.

“The job still isn’t done yet but we stopped the rot with a good performance,” said Jones.

“We needed that after the string of results we’ve had and especially the first half at Stevenage.

“I’ve blanked Aaron O’Connor’s phone call since then!

“It was just a bad start but we want to try to forget that now and move on.

“We played a lot better in the second half [at Stevenage] and we took that into Tuesday.

“Everyone worked their socks off [against Oxford] and I think that’s what we’ve been missing in the last five or six games.

“Everyone pulled their weight and worked hard. I don’t know why that was missing before. I couldn’t put my finger on it but we haven’t been working hard enough.

“And it just goes to show that when we do roll our sleeves up and work hard we are a match for anyone.”

Jones believes the Exiles are capable of earning at least a point at Kenilworth Road today.

“A draw is enough and we’d take that,” he said. “It’s a good result down there.

“It’s always a tough place but it’s a place you enjoy playing at.

“It’s a big crowd and a big team and we seem to play better against the better teams.

“We don’t want to rely on York losing so if we can go down there and get a minimum of a point we’ll be happy.”

And the 32-year-old says he’d love to be a part of manager Warren Feeney’s plans for next season.

“I’ve always said I want to stay but it’s not down to me. It’s down to the manager and the board,” he said.

“I think the club is waiting for safety before anything happens and I’m hoping it comes today so we can start planning for next season.

“If we can keep the core of the team and build on it then next season we could have a real good go.”