NEWPORT County AFC joint chairmen Gavin Foxall and Malcolm Temple have issued a statement backing manager Graham Westley to save the club from relegation.

County suffered an eighth successive defeat in League Two on Saturday and remain five points from safety at the foot of the table.

And Foxall and Temple believe that the club needs at least nine wins from the 22 games left to play in order to beat the drop.

The statement reads: “We brought in Graham Westley well in advance of the January transfer window because we realised that he needed time to assess the players he inherited to allow him to make any changes he felt necessary when the window opened.

“It is clear to him that a major overhaul of the playing squad is needed.

“Graham has a near 50 per cent win record in his 850+ games and we trusted that he could use the January window to turn our fortunes around.

“The board has made funds available to him to bring players in and the change process has begun with six additions and seven departures so far.

“Our new players may naturally take a short time to gel but we remain confident that NCAFC will soon be back on the winning trail.

“Ours was not a small problem and wasn't going to be a quick fix. It was a significant issue needing major surgery.

“But we have united around the job and have total faith in each other that we will pull through.

“Our fan base has always been our greatest strength and we know that we can depend on them now to give the players and management their full backing as they search for the vital nine or so wins that we are likely to need as a minimum.”