BATH City manager Alan Pridham has insisted his side will concentrate on playing football when Newport play at Twerton Park in their return Dr Martens League match on Tuesday, October 9.

Ugly scenes marred Monday night's Premier Division match at Newport Stadium when two Bath players were sent off following a foul on Newport striker and goal-scorer Martin Paul during County's 1-0 win.

Pridham says his team will let their football speak for itself on October 9, reiterating the message of Newport County manager Tim Harris who said: "We don't want a war, we just want to play football."

Getting back to the matter in hand, defender Billy Clark has tweaked a hamstring and is doubtful for tomorrow's game away to Chelmsford City.

Clark missed the Kettering Town and Bath City matches after having ten stitches inserted in a gash above his right eye, picked up during County's 1-1 draw with Merthyr Tydfil on Bank Holiday Monday, but the hamstring injury is one picked up pre-season.

Virtually all the squad trained on Wednesday night except for Garry Shephard, Matthew Rose and Scott Walker who all had treatment for knocks, but are expected to be fit.

It may be a different season, but the problem of too many matches a week remains.

Manager Tim Harris admitted that while he does not want to be seen to be 'whingeing', the demands of the league season are putting tremendous strain on all squads, not just Newport who are fortunate to have a bigger squad than last season.

Harris said: "It's scandalous. We are playing three games a week in a Saturday to Saturday period and the lads just don't have a chance to recover.

"We have to travel to Chelmsford on Saturday and then Weymouth on Tuesday, but the lads have got to put in two days work in the meantime. I'm not whingeing because there's nothing we can do about it, but it's scandalous."

Harris compared the plight of his semi-professional team to the demands put on England's full-timers and added he was not surprised that in beating Albania 2-0 at Newcastle on Wednesday night, the England team failed to match Saturday's stunning performance when they destroyed Germany 5-1.

He said: "The (England) players were shattered and they did remarkably well to get a result on Wednesday after the euphoria of winning in Germany. It was a lot to ask the players to repeat the performance, even though they are professionals."

FAW Premier Cup Group B fixtures Newport County: v Cwmbran Town (a) Tuesday, Oct 2; v Carmarthen Town (a) Tuesday Oct 16; v Rhyl (h), Monday, Nov 5, 7.45pm; v Carmarthen Town (h) Monday, Nov 19, 7.45pm; v Cwmbran (h) Monday, Nov 26; v Rhyl (a) Tuesday, Dec 4.