RYAN Bird is “desperate” to score past his old club as Newport County AFC take on Yeovil Town today, writes Ryan Robinson.

The 29-year-old striker played for the Glovers last season and scored eight goals during his time with the club.

But he says that will count for nothing at Rodney Parade this afternoon as he targets three points and a first goal since he hit the winner from the penalty spot at Morecambe a month ago.

“I’m desperate for a goal,” said Bird, who has netted five times in 15 appearances since joining the Exiles from Eastleigh in January.

“It’s against my old club from last year so I’m desperate to get a goal.

“I’d love a tap in. We’ve scored some worldies all year but you’d take any sort of goal and I’d a like a few.

“It would be a massive result for us if we do beat them as it gives us a great chance of getting even further up the table and out of trouble,” he added.

“We won’t get ahead of ourselves but we know victory over Yeovil will put us in a good place.”

Bird is no rookie to the so-called ‘Great Escape’ after being part of Hartlepool United’s heroic survival in 2015.

Bird joined the club on loan during Ronnie Moore’s spell with the team and played a pivotal part in a four-game winning run that Pools just pip Cheltenham Town to safety.

County can leapfrog Hartlepool and get out of the drop zone themselves if they win and Hartlepool lose to Carlisle United this afternoon.

And Bird says it would be a huge achievement for the team to get out of the bottom two for the first time since November.

“It would be a massive boost for us,” he said. “We’ve been playing well for weeks so hopefully we can get the right result and I’ve got every confidence that we will.”

He added: “They do it every year Hartlepool, they are always down there but get out of it, but they’re not on a good run so hopefully we can jump above them.”

Bird admits the 4-0 homed defeat to Leyton Orient on March 4 was his lowest point yet as a County player, but believes the players have responded well since then.

“Our heads did start to drop but change came quickly and we responded to that as quickly as we could,” he said.

Since then, Bird has formed a formidable partnership with Alex Samuel and believes it is the perfect combination up front.

“I like playing up-front with Alex, he runs his nuts off every day,” he added.

“He’s 19 and he’s so fit, he works really hard for the team. He’s a handful up there, he’s not the biggest but he’s really strong and does well.

“Opposition defenders are constantly worried about him because they don’t know where he is. It makes my job easier and we work well together.”

Bird also heaped praise on caretaker manager Michael Flynn, who he says has instilled belief and confidence throughout the side.

“The gaffer’s done really well and it always happens when a team loses a manager, look at Leicester,” he said.

“It’s just about the reaction of the team and the gaffer’s been great. Training’s been great, he’s looked after us – he’s been a player himself recently so he knew what needed to be done.

“Our all-round game has now improved, we’ve got a lot of good players and we are creating more chances. The gaffer instils it into us every day, he’s passionate about this football club and it means everything to him.

“We’re behind him and as players it’s our livelihoods so it’s important to stay up. The performances show he’s behind us and we’re behind him definitely.”