GRAHAM Westley believed his Newport County AFC side displayed plenty of “desire and determination” in their 1-0 defeat to Yeovil Town today.

Westley didn’t get the result he was looking for in his first game at the helm of the Exiles but he was able to take some positives away from Huish Park.

The League Two clash appeared to be heading for a draw when Dan Butler put through his own net in the 81st minute.

“I thought it was a very tight encounter,” said Westley. “Both sides played some decent football in patches, we certainly didn’t look like a bottom-of-the-table side.

“We took our game forward well, 13 attempts at goal, I think they had 11, and we were undone by a defensive error.

“When you’re at the bottom you tend to be there for a reason. You tend to be there because the margins are just going against you.

“I’ve think I’ve got a lot of players in there, who will be good players, who maybe making slight errors at the moment.

“With a little bit of coaching I think we can become a very good League Two side.”

He added: “The appetite was obvious. The lads showed a good understanding of the work we’ve done this week.

“We changed the system and there were no excuses, they went about their work in a very positive and constructive way.

“When you look back at the game, possession was pretty equal, 13 to 11 attempts at goal, and we were in a game away from home against a side that has been in decent enough form.

“I think we showed a lot of desire and determination to become the side that we will become.”