LEAGUE Two’s bottom side host the leaders at Rodney Parade tomorrow night but Newport County AFC manager Graham Westley insists that his players will not be intimidated by Doncaster Rovers.

The table toppers have lost just once in 15 league games, winning 11 and drawing the other three – including at home to Morecambe last Saturday.

In contrast to Darren Ferguson’s side, County have one just one of their last 12 league games.

But they are now four unbeaten and Westley believes his players can rattle Rovers.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re playing the leaders or the side immediately above you – sides have all got something to play for,” said the Exiles boss.

“In many respects, you could argue that, with a 14-point and goal difference lead over the fourth-placed side, we need the points more than they do.

“I think we go in as the fifth-best form side over four games in the league. There are six teams in the league who are unbeaten in four games.

“So we go in in good confidence, in good form and we go in believing that, providing we do our job right, we can win the game.

“And I don’t think we’d have been in that situation going back five, six or eight weeks.”

Westley pointed to two players in his squad as an example of why the team would not be daunted by taking on Doncaster.

“Look at Aaron Williams,” he said. “He was playing in my Peterborough side last year that went to Doncaster and beat them 2-1 towards the end of the year when they were fighting for their lives.

“Aaron made one, scored one and was really influential so he’s not going to be daunted.

“He’ll understand that Andy Butler is a decent centre-half but he’ll also understand that he’s able to score goals against him, because he’s proven that.

“At the other end you’ve got a lad like Mark O’Brien who’s played nearly 50 Championship games for Derby County and he’s still a young man.

“He’ll respect fully what [Andy] Williams and [John] Marquis can offer, he’ll be under no illusions about their qualities but he’s faced players of tremendous qualities in the Championship and dealt with them.

“He’s a very strong centre-back who understands his job so they’ll have as much to worry about as he does.”

Doncaster will also have to cope with the poor playing surface at Rodney Parade and Westley believes that his side can use that as an advantage over visiting sides.

“The pitch is difficult, we know that,” he added. “We’ve tried to build a way of playing on the pitch and learn a way of playing that is most effective.

“Last time out at home we won 3-1 and convincingly so against Hartlepool.

“We’ve obviously changed the resources around so that we can play a slightly different way at home and so far so good in that respect.

“But we showed before we changed the squad round when we were at our very best we could get a 0-0 draw over 90 minutes at home to Plymouth in the FA Cup.”

Ferguson is well aware of the problems the pitch and the Exiles will pose for his side.

The Doncaster boss told the Yorkshire Post: “People will see that Doncaster going to Newport on a Friday night is a big test and it is in the sense of whoever plays Newport on the home ground now are probably going to have one of their toughest games left this season, purely because of the conditions.

“They are big, strong, physical and competitive and fighting for their lives. Of their last eight goals, seven have come from set-pieces and that is what we have to deal with.

“We have come through these similar games where we have had to roll our sleeves up and battle on not very good pitches.

“Bobbles and things will happen and there will be a lot of mistakes.

“We have to make less than Newport really and hope we have players to capitalise on theirs.”