GRAHAM Westley has warned Newport County AFC fans not to expect pretty football at Rodney Parade over the winter months.

The County manager once again admitted that he had not got his team selection right after his side were beaten 2-0 at home by Stevenage on Tuesday night.

Westley says the sand-covered pitch at the stadium the club shares with Newport RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons makes playing the ball on the ground very difficult.

He intends to play a more direct game in order to get results at home, until the playing surface improves.

And that could also mean he won’t always select players who have impressed in recent successes on the road.

“When you play as we did at the weekend it’s difficult to leave players out and lack belief in them when you’re playing at home,” said Westley.

“But I’ve got to get myself in the frame of mind when I’m picking a team that can win games on this pitch.

“Stevenage were just strong, experienced, resilient, they made good decisions, were game-intelligent and relied on the fact that the pitch was going to break down a lot of our good football.”

He added: “It’s very difficult when you’re playing away games and you almost forget how bad it is.

“We tried to play some really good football and we’ve got some really good footballers but out there it’s difficult for them to have the maximum effect on the game.

“So I’ve got to find a way to get results here and find it fast.

“We’ve got a game on Saturday and it’s a game that we have to win.

“I’ve got to find a formula. I’ve got to make sure going into the weekend that I think about it.

“And people have got to understand that I’m going to have to find a very rugged, resilient, direct way of playing because that’s the only way you can play out there.”

Westley also revealed that his preparations for home games are hampered as he is not permitted to hold training sessions on the Rodney Parade pitch.

“It is our home pitch but we can’t train on it, which makes it even more difficult,” he said.

“It’s not our ground so we’re not allowed to train on it. It’s a ground that is someone else’s, rugby gets played on it. It is what it is.”