TEAM spirit has played a big part in the revival of Newport County AFC under new manager Michael Flynn and the bonds between players have been strengthened further with several sharing a house as well as a dressing room.

Since Flynn took over from Graham Westley in March the club has miraculously survived relegation and surged into the play-off places at the start of the new campaign.

And one of the major factors has been the fact that several players are now housemates as well as teammates.

Robbie Willmott says sharing digs with captain Joss Labadie and youngsters Lamar Reynolds and Jazzi Barnum-Bobb in Newport has helped performances on the pitch this season.

“I’m living with Joss, Lamar and Jazzi at the moment,” said Willmott.

“We’ve got a house just by the club and you get to know people’s habits and get to know people on a personal level, which is always good.

“There’s a few bad habits in that house but I’ll keep them quiet!

“The gaffer tries to keep us all close together,” he added.

“We do a lot of stuff off the pitch to get to know each other and that really helps on the pitch as well.”

Willmott says he is the most responsible member of the household and he is not impressed with Barnum-Bobb’s choice of TV viewing.

“I’m the oldest so I’m the dad of the house,” said the 27-year-old.

“I’ve got to look after the boys so I buy the bread and the milk.

“It’s testing at times but it’s not too bad. All the lads are pretty much into the same things.

“We train, then we go home and just chill out. We cook a bit of food and then we might watch a TV series or watch the football.

“The boys are watching Power and Jazzi watches Game of Thrones but all that dragon stuff isn’t really for me!”

Defensive duo Mark O’Brien and Mickey Demetriou have also been living together since signing new contracts in the summer.

And O’Brien says that has helped the pair’s understanding in the heart of the defence during matches.

“On the pitch, it’s work-time,” said the Irish centre-back.

“We both know that if I was to say something to him or he says something back that we don’t take it to heart or anything.

“But we get on really well. It’s a bond we had last season and hopefully we’re building on it for this year now.”

O’Brien also helped Demetriou cope with the stress of waiting for the birth of his new son Theo, with his partner Aimee still living in the Shrewsbury area.

“I’m delighted for him,” said O’Brien. “Obviously it’s one of those things where it’s nervous times where he’s waiting around for the birth of his new baby.

“But I’m delighted for him because now it’s put his mind at ease and he can get back into concentrating on football now and he doesn’t have to worry so much about what’s happening at home.”

But O’Brien says he will not be volunteering for babysitting duties.

“No, he’s not got me on the babysitting duties just yet,” added the 24-year-old.

“I’m going to wait until the baby is a little bit older and then I’ll start looking after him but as for now I think the baby is going to stay where he is!”