NEWPORT County AFC caretaker manager Michael Flynn has again stressed the need for his strikers to be more clinical but he’s ruled out promoting the club’s prolific youth team front men.

In-form forwards Sean Rigg and Alex Samuel have impressed in recent weeks but main striker Ryan Bird has netted just once in his last seven games.

And, with Marlon Jackson injured and Aaron Williams and Craig Reid out of favour, Jaanai Gordon was the only attacker on the bench for last week’s 1-0 win over Crawley Town.

Flynn felt his players should have won that game more comfortably.

“They played some really good stuff last week and could have been two or three up in the first half, which was the frustrating thing because at the end we needed a great save from Joe [Day] to preserve the three points,” he said.

“The boys deserved to win that game quite comfortably but that’s never the case at 1-0, or even 2-0 with us.

“We know we’ve got to be more clinical, we’ve got to kill teams off.

“We’ve got to get a bit of confidence into the strikers,” added Flynn.

“They’re getting into the right positions to score, which is a positive, but we can go back to the Morecambe game where we had chances.

“At Portsmouth we could have got back into it, Luton –we should have won it.

“But I don’t like making excuses. At the end of the day we’ve just got to focus and start hitting the back of the net more often than we are.

“And the sooner we do that the quicker we’re going to climb up the table.”

South Wales Argus:

Jackson, who impressed as a substitute against Luton and Portsmouth (above), has been ruled out with a hamstring problem picked up while playing for the reserves last week.

“It looks like he’s out for a couple of weeks, which is frustrating because he’d just got to a level where we thought he could be really effective,” said Flynn.

“I’m gutted for him but I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’s a strong character and hopefully we’ll see him before the end of the season.”

Williams (below) featured for the reserves this week and Flynn hinted that the striker could be included in the squad to face Exeter City tomorrow.

“Aaron had a good 90 minutes in the reserves on Tuesday so he’s another one that could come back in,” said the Exiles boss.

South Wales Argus:

“Aaron had an assist and got a good 90 minutes under his belt.

“And he needed that because he’s not been himself. I needed him to get that boost and a little bit of confidence.

“And that’s the reaction I wanted. Hopefully we’ll see him back to where he can be.”

He added: “Craig Reid is fit and training but he’s just down the pecking order.

“I’ve been honest with Craig. I’ve got to make decisions and unfortunately for Craig at the minute there are people in front of him.

“He’s been good, he’s got his head down and I won’t rule anybody out.

“I think I’ve shown that by bringing Mark back and if he [Reid] keeps impressing and doing well then he’s fighting for a place in the squad.”

But Flynn will not be calling on the likes of Rhys Kavanagh or Momodou Touray, who have scored 26 and 16 goals respectively for Byron Anthony’s under-18s side this season.

He explained: “There’s absolutely no chance at the minute. They’re nowhere near ready.

“I’ve got 25 or 26 players here who are all above them in what we need at the moment.

“If we were safe with five games to go then I’m all for giving youth a chance and getting them the experience but not in this position we’re in. No chance.”

Kavanagh is currently on trial with Swansea City’s under-18s and played for the Swans youngsters last Saturday.