MICHAEL Flynn believes towering targetman Alex Fisher will give Newport County AFC a different dimension this season – but says they cannot afford to go route one.

The 6ft 3ins forward spent pre-season on trial with the Exiles and impressed to earn a deal that was announced on Saturday morning.

Later that afternoon the 31-year-old, who was with Exeter City last season, made his debut as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat at Mansfield.

Fisher will provide County with a physical presence up top but Flynn knows that delivery is key, and that a big man cannot lead to his team ditching their possession-based style.

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“He brings a link between the strikers and midfield,” said the manager. “He holds the ball up extremely well, his movement is very good and gives us a different dimension.

“He is hungry and wants to do well, so I am looking forward to working with him. He is very experienced and gives us that option when we put crosses in the box because his movement is so good.

“I said to the players [in the changing room after Mansfield] that we started going a little bit long in the last 10, 15 minutes.

“That wasn’t the point of bringing Alex and Jordan Greenidge on, I wanted us to build and to get more crosses into the box. They know that now, they have taken it on board and accepted that they rushed it.

“It was panic stations when we still had 15 minutes to go and could have scored two goals in that amount of time.”

County suffered a first defeat of the season at Field Mill after 1-0 wins against Oldham Athletic and Ipswich Town.

There is a round of midweek League Two action but the Exiles’ clash with Northampton has been postponed to give extra settling time for the new hybrid Rodney Parade pitch that was installed this summer.

Of the 14 players that got onto the field in Mansfield, nine arrived in the off season and the lack of a fixture provides a welcome opportunity for them to gel ahead of a game against a club that also suffered play-off woe in 2020/21.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do on the training pitch and need to rest up as well, which is just as important, to get ready for another tough game away at Tranmere,” said Flynn, whose side lost 1-0 at Prenton Park last season.

Tranmere started the season with a 1-0 win against Walsall, drew 0-0 at Port Vale on Saturday and travel to Swindon on Tuesday evening.