NEWPORT County AFC manager Graham Westley says his players owe the fans a response after Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Blackpool.

Hundreds of Exiles supporters made the 430-mile round trip and braved the cold weather to watch their team concede three unanswered goals in the final 30 minutes at Bloomfield Road.

Rhys Healey had cancelled out Brad Potts’ early opener for the hosts and Sean Rigg could have put the visitors ahead but his penalty was saved.

Jazzi Barnum-Bobb was then forced off with an injury and replaced by new signing Abdoulaye Meite, who could do nothing to prevent further goals from Jack Payne, Kyle Vassell and Kelvin Mellor.

Westley praised the travelling fans for their constant backing and said the players owe them a response after letting their heads drop following Blackpool’s second goal.

“I thought our support was absolutely incredible,” said the manager.

“The numbers that travelled, the support that they gave us and the energy that they spread onto the field of play was sensational.

“And I’ve said to the boys in the dressing room: ‘You’ve got to accept that your responsibility as a professional footballer is to keep those people happy, to give them back what they’re giving to you’.

“The support was fantastic and the boys know that they owe them a response.

“After the disappointment of missing the penalty and conceding the second we dropped our heads and lost our belief.

“Experienced players won’t do that, they’ll have the knowhow to get back into the game.

“We didn’t show the knowhow; we showed our inexperience.”

Westley felt the absence of captain Scot Bennett through suspension, which meant Ben Tozer played alongside Darren Jones in central defence, played a big part in the defeat.

And he also pinpointed the loss of Barnum-Bobb as a pivotal moment.

“Ingredients went missing in the last 30 minutes, we were a bit imbalanced and we paid the price,” said the Exiles boss.

“They used their experience, they exploited the weaknesses in the structure of our line-up and they were deserved winners in the end.

“There are times as a manager when you’ve got to use your head and not your heart,” he added.

“Your heart is feeling the embarrassment and the humiliation of the result; your head says we’ve got a lot of youngsters, a lot of lads that need help, who need to learn.

“With the right ingredients we’ve shown we can win games and I’m sure we can get back to that.”

Westley didn’t blame defeat on Rigg’s failure from the spot – his second in eight days – but suggested that there would now be a change of penalty taker.

“I think he himself would probably want someone to take over the duties,” he said.

“Two missed penalties is a bit of a knock to your confidence and I’m sure there will be a change within the dressing room.”