MARK O’Brien believes his experience playing Sunday league football in Ireland has been the perfect preparation for a relegation scrap with Newport County AFC, writes Ryan Robinson.

The 24-year-old defender joined the Exiles in January on a deal until the end of the season after leaving Luton Town by mutual consent and he insists he is ready for the challenge ahead.

“In the Dublin league that I was in, it was a competitive league. It prepares you for the tough battles over here no matter what level of football you are playing,” he said.

“With the battle the club are in now, I think this experience comes out and shows, which is good to have.”

The centre-half also cites the Dublin League as the reason behind his aggressive defensive nature.

“It’s always been in me and I’ve always been described as an old-fashioned centre-back and I’d never like to leave it out of myself.

“If there’s a scrap I will always go in head first, rather than with my foot.”

O’Brien has become a regular starter at the heart of the defence since his move; and has become part of a defence that has only conceded three goals in the past six matches.

And he insists the team are working hard to keep this stat going.

“For a defender, a clean-sheet is like a goal,” he said. “We are trying to do our jobs and the strikers are doing theirs.

“We are a work in progress, but the results are getting stronger as we get along.”

Asked to describe his time at the club so far, O’Brien said he is “loving every minute of it” and is looking forward to helping the team progress up the table.

“There’s plenty of time to get out of the relegation zone and give it a real go,” he added.

“We are going in the right direction and we have no doubt that we have a great opportunity to survive.

“The results are slowly coming our way and all the lads are giving everything on the pitch and you can’t really ask for more.”

O’Brien has so far been a mainstay in the centre of defence alongside Darren Jones and fellow January recruit Sid Nelson.

Jones, however, picked up his 10th yellow card of the season in the 0-0 draw with Grimsby Town so will be suspended for today’s trip to Cambridge United and Tuesday’s home clash with Morecambe.

Despite this, O’Brien has no doubt in the ability of the player to step in.

He said: “We work day in, day out as a unit and everyone knows what is required of them so when one guy drops out, the guy coming in knows exactly what is required.”

Manager Graham Westley was also complimentary when discussing his January recruit.

“People will look at Mark O’Brien and say he is a Championship defender, which he is,” said the Exiles boss.

“His performances have been top draw, top notch, they tell you everything about why he has played the amount of Championship games [with Derby County] that he has.”

Asked on his future beyond this season, O’Brien maintained his desire to remain with the club.

“I moved from Ireland when I was 15 to play football, so I was more than happy to play here when I got given the opportunity,” he said.

“I came here with the hope of games and if there was an opportunity to stay then I would take it with both hands.”