NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn says he will try to convince the club’s board to release more funds to allow him to further strengthen his squad before the League Two kick-off on August 4.

Flynn has brought in seven new players so far this summer but his work in the transfer market is not finished yet.

The Exiles boss took a look at Bristol City midfielder Tyreeq Bakinson during Saturday’s 2-0 pre-season win at Hereford FC and he’s still on the hunt for a goalkeeper and another striker.

“We’re still looking to bring more in,” said Flynn. “I’ll be trying my hardest to bend the arms of the board to see if we can get a little bit more because if the right player becomes available I want to be in a position where we can get him.”

On Bakinson, the manager said: “He’s a little bit different to the other midfielders that we’ve got so he’s somebody that I’m looking at and who we’ll have to have a chat about and a think about over the next week.”

Striker Antoine Semenyo, who arrived on loan from Bristol City last week, opened the scoring at Edgar Street from the penalty spot before substitute Padraig Amond sealed the win in stoppage time.

“For an 18-year-old I thought he [Semenyo] was outstanding,” said Flynn.

“He’s raw and sometimes he’s got to move the ball a little bit quicker but he handled the physical battle, he was calm with the penalty, he got himself into some good positions, got stuck in. I was impressed.

“I said to them that I wanted to win this game,” he added. “I think it was important to start getting into that winning mentality and it was a great following so I wanted us to get the win but ultimately it was about the performance and no injuries.”

Mark O’Brien was withdrawn at half-time after a heavy challenge but the defender is not expected to be sidelined for too long.

“He’s just got some bruising,” explained Flynn. “It’s a bit sore. He wanted to play on but I didn’t want him getting another knock on it so we took him off as a precaution.

“I thought it was a tough tackle but I expect them in derby games, whether it be pre-season or cup finals.

“There were a few tasty challenges out there but we’ve got away with it and they’ve got away with it. Nobody’s injured and I like the game to be intense and competitive so it’ll hold us in good stead for two weeks’ time.

“We gave as good as we got and on a different day, the way football is going, there might have been a red card or two but it was good to see a competitive edge to the game.

“And one of the pleasing things was that when the melee happened they all stuck together. They all jumped in and helped each other out.

“Team spirit does go a long way and we’re going to need a bit of that.”

Mickey Demetriou missed the match for family reasons and should return for County’s final pre-season friendly against Stoke City under-23s next Saturday.