Newport County in promotion mix thanks to Michael Flynn

The Exiles have started their search for a new boss after Flynn’s sudden exit at the end of last week.

The 40-year-old from Pill turned County’s fortunes around over saving them from relegation in 2017, guiding them to a pair of agonising League Two play-off final defeats.

Flynn fell short of taking the club to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1987 but Dolan believes his successor will have a shot at finishing the job rather than looking down.

“I wasn’t there for the great escape but it happened for a reason. Newport were 22nd in the league and we have been nowhere near that since,” said the midfielder turned defender, who arrived for the following season.

INFLUENTIAL: Matty Dolan is confident County will be promotion contenders

“We have progressed, we have given some magical nights [in the FA Cup], we have progressed into a different style of play that people didn’t see coming.

“We have created good groups along the way with good friends and quality players who have gone onto better things in their careers.

“Ultimately, we have to focus on the job ahead and we will be looking forward to working with whoever comes in.

“We will wear the shirt with pride and won’t change as a group of players, giving everything that we’ve got.

“As a group of players, we believe in ourselves and believe in where we are going and what we can do.

“We believe we have a good group of players that can move forward and ultimately achieve what we have set out to do for the last three years but has just eluded us.”

Michael Flynn and Matty Dolan

Dolan was part of Flynn’s first recruitment drive, arriving from Yeovil with the promise of promotion bids rather than relegation scraps.

“He told me that he wanted to be successful when he signed me four years ago and we have been,” said the skipper.

“Full credit to the lads who have gone along with the ride and full credit to the manager and his staff for leading the ship.

“He is someone who constantly improved the club for four and a half years, from 22nd to two play-off finals with cup runs that brought in revenue for the club.

“What he has built here is special and he deserves all the credit for that and success at whatever job he goes onto, and he’d walk into most clubs.

“Football changes, you can’t wallow in the past and you have to move forward. The gaffer deserves his legacy but as players we have to keep moving forward and be professional.”

Matty Dolan brings the ball out from the back against Scunthorpe

Interim manager Wayne Hatswell guided County to a 3-0 win over Scunthorpe last weekend and the challenge is to halt a trend when they host Bradford on Saturday.

The Exiles have suffered defeats in the games following successes against Oldham, Tranmere and Walsall.

“It was a pretty crazy couple of days before Scunthorpe but as footballers you have to focus on what you do on the pitch, and it was a good performance,” said Dolan.

“Now we’ve got to repeat it and get rid of the inconsistency that we’ve had this year.

“For whatever reason we’ve not had consistency this year, we’ve got to build on this and use Scunthorpe as a stepping stone.

“We don’t want to be in the position after Bradford of saying we were brilliant last week and it hasn’t happened.”