NEWPORT owner Tony Brown has admitted that the squad may not be good enough to fulfil the ambitions of the club.

Brown, who has built up the most expensive squad in Welsh rugby, has seen the team lose all eight of their major fixtures this season.

And that follows three pre-season defeats in friendlies as well.

As a result, Newport have crashed out of the Celtic League and have almost certainly ended their interest in the Heineken Cup as well before the end of October.

Now Brown admits: "It is extremely disappointing. Our players have given everything, but we have got to ask whether they are as talented as the people they are playing against.

"It is a big worrying scenario, and I can't stay forever. There is nothing more I can do.

"I will be staying until the end of next season, but there has to be less dependence on benefactors like me, Peter Thomas (Cardiff) and Huw Evans (Llanelli)."

Brown also has another go at the Welsh Rugby Union, blaming them for a lack of leadership, and says time has almost run out.

"We are drinking at the last chance saloon," he said.

"Unless some leadership is shown there is not a hope of taking it forward, and all that will happen is that Welsh rugby will be in an even bigger mess.

"I am in my fourth year with Newport and I have never been consulted by the WRU and have never had any dialogue with them.

"There does need to be a reduction in the number of clubs because we haven't go the talent. We've seen it in the Celtic League and it's the same in the Heineken Cup."

The five Welsh teams in the major European competition all lost at the weekend after winning one, losing three and drawing one in the first week.

"Unless action is taken urgently, I can't see anything moving forward," said Brown.

WRU chief Glanmor Griffiths was due to make a statement tomorrow about the future being regional in contrast to his statement in the summer that the future should be club based.

But the management board made up of WRU and leading club representatives meets tomorrow instead, and an announcement could be made later this week.

Newport, meanwhile, are waiting for the results of scans today on skipper Simon Raiwalui, Andrew Powell (both knee) and Andy Marinos (ankle).

Powell looked the most serious after the Toulouse game on Friday night and had the knee in a brace.

Toulouse centre Xavier Garbajosa has been banned for two matches after being given two yellow cards by referee Chris White in the match.

The second was in injury time, and there was initially confusion whether a red card should have been shown.

That was confirmed later, and a disciplinary panel met at Rodney Parade, passing the two-game ban on the grounds of intent to infringe by the player.