Newport contract talks on hold until end of season, says boss Graham Coughlan

Newport County's 4-0 home loss to Crawley Town on Monday realistically ended their play-off hopes

Newport County manager Graham Coughlan says contract talks with most of his players will be held after the final game of the League Two campaign.

The Newport boss has called on his injury-hit squad to finish the season "with pride, not a whimper".

The Exiles have lost their last three League Two games and are away to struggling Grimsby Town on Saturday.

"I will sit down with all the players at the end of the season, as soon as we finish at Bradford," Coughlan said.

"That is as we did last year, as I have done at every football club. I like to sit down with them, look them in the eye and have that conversation with them about the season, about going forward.

"I don't like going through agents, I don't like doing things through email or carrier pigeon!

"I like to sit down in front of the lads and have a man-to-man conversation."

Newport are 13th in the table, seven points behind seventh place Crawley Town - who hammered them 4-0 at Rodney Parade on Monday - and realistically out of play-off contention.

After facing a Grimsby side battling to stay out of the relegation places, Newport have four more league games and finish their season away to Bradford City on Saturday, 27 April.

Coughlan will then hold face-to-face talks over the long-term future of players.

"Timing is everything in football," he added.

"I don't think its wise to start pulling people in January, February or March or before the last ball is kicked and delivering the news.

"They could sit back and rest, put their flip flops on and say, 'the gaffer has offered me a new five-year deal'.

"Or they could say, 'the gaffer doesn't want me next year so why should I bother?'. So there is a mindset or mentality that you have to protect, to protect the player, the club and the dressing room.

"We have opened negotiations with one or two who are injured. We have spoken to them who can't get on the pitch so that mindset and mentality is protected.

"I think the majority of them will know what is going on and what we want to do. On the whole the club has progressed and come on and the dressing room has proven that when we are fit and healthy, we are more than a match for most of the teams this season."

Going into Saturday's game against a Grimsby side who are 21st in the table - just two points above the bottom two relegation places - Newport's squad is anything but healthy, and Coughlan could be missing as many as nine players.

Those three consecutive defeats have ended Newport's realistic hopes of the play-offs but with five games remaining the manager issued a rallying call.

"Roll your sleeves up and get through it and don't use injuries as an excuse, give a really good account of yourself because that is all people remember," Coughlan said.

"It's not how you start it is how you finish. I want us to finish strong with pride, not with a whimper, with pride, with passion - the way they have represented the club all season."