JAMIE Proctor has made the sacrifice of moving away from his wife and child in Lancashire after a dramatic deadline day move to be part of a successful Newport County AFC side.

The 28-year-old striker became an Exile last Friday after a loan move from Rotherham was sealed just half an hour before the 5pm deadline.

Proctor had started the day preparing for the Millers’ Championship clash against Norwich City but that all changed during training in Yorkshire.

“It was stressful. I thought that I was going to have a peaceful one this year,” said the forward, who will be at Rodney Parade until January.

“I trained fully at Rotherham on the Friday preparing for the game and then halfway through, probably around 12.30pm, the assistant manager pulled me aside.

“He said that there was potential for a move and asked what I wanted to do. I said that I needed more time to think about it because my wife and little one are up in Preston, which is obviously a good distance away.

“I said that I couldn't make a decision right away while on the training pitch, so asked to be given a few hours afterwards and that I would speak to the manager here at Newport.

“I did that and said that I wanted to get it done, we got all the forms done as quickly as we could in Rotherham and it was about 4.30pm that it was all done and dusted.

“It was all a bit of a whirlwind, I didn't really have much time to think and plan but ultimately I wanted to come and play games and be part of a successful team.

“From a football side of things there wasn't really too much to think about.”

From a personal side of things it was different, with Proctor currently living in a Newport hotel during fire-break lockdown and heading up to the north west of England to be with his family, in tier three Preston, when the hectic fixture list allows it.

It’s a sacrifice that the striker is happy to make after enduring injury misfortune at the Millers, where he ruptured knee ligaments in 2017 and then suffered a hip problem that needed two operations.

"For my whole time at Rotherham there has just been one thing after another,” he said. "In the ten years that I had played before that I had never had one single serious injury.

"People always look and say 'he's injury prone and doesn't play games' but before that I had never had a problem and was fit and available every single week.

"This season I have not missed a day of training or a game. I am fully fit and ready to go, it's just about getting minutes and match sharpness."

Proctor was an unused substitute in the 1-0 win at Stevenage when Saikou Janneh and Tristan Abrahams started with Padraig Amond coming off the bench.

The striker will aim to get up and running in amber at Bradford City, who he scored for in the 2016 League One play-offs defeat to Millwall, this afternoon and he is sure to be valuable for manager Michael Flynn in a hectic schedule.

"In terms of getting into the team it's just a case of biding my time," said Proctor.

"When you come into a team that is struggling a little bit you can expect to be in a little bit sooner but that's not the case here, the lads are flying.

"Hopefully when called upon I can put on a good performance."

Free Press Series: Jamie Proctor in action for Bolton WanderersJamie Proctor in action for Bolton Wanderers

With 268 EFL appearances to his name, Proctor provides Flynn with an experienced option up front and one with the ability to bring others into play, a strength that is particularly welcome after the loss through injury of Ryan Taylor.

The striker is confident that he has an adaptable game that will suit County, whether they are playing on the deck or going more direct.

“The style is attractive and it's about keeping the ball on the floor, playing out from the keeper and building patiently,” he said.

"What the manager has seen in the last couple of games is that we can mix it up when we need to fight, scrap and do that ugly side.

"That suits me down the ground in terms of being a big, physical forward. People will expect that more from me, but I would rather drop off, get the ball into feet and bring other people into play by getting the ball wide and into the box.

"I certainly think the mixture of the two is something that will benefit me."