NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn has backed teenager Ben White and his defensive colleagues to stop The Beast in his tracks on Saturday.

White has been in impressive form since joining the Exiles on loan from Premier League new boys Brighton & Hove Albion last month.

The 19-year-old will face a tough test against man mountain Adebayo Akinfenwa, known as The Beast, when Wycombe Wanderers visit Rodney Parade on Saturday.

But Flynn is confident that White and teammates Mickey Demetriou and Mark O’Brien can keep 16-stone Akinfenwa quiet.

“I’ve played against him myself and you’ve just got to use your common sense and don’t get into a wrestle with him because there’s only going be one winner,” said the Exiles boss.

“We’ll be trying to stop the sources to him because we don’t want him having the ammunition.

“We’ve got to make sure that we defend properly and then play our game.

“I’ve got no worries whatsoever about Ben White,” he added.

“He’s been outstanding for somebody so young, who hasn’t played League football before.

“He’s got a bright future ahead of him and I’m not concerned about him at all.

“He’s a massive talent. He’s very highly thought of at Brighton. He’s loving his time here and he’s growing as a man.

“I’ll be proud to say that we helped him on his way when we see him in the Premier League week in and week out.”

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And Flynn feels the experience that White (above) gains from playing against the likes of Akinfenwa will speed up his development at the top level.

“He’s not going to be up against anything like that in the under-23s,” he said.

“It’s a lot of nice football and technical stuff but I don’t think it fully prepares you for League football, where every mistake seems to get punished and it’ s more about results than about development.

“That’s the big difference but if we can find a happy medium between the two then that will benefit the players a lot more.”