NEWPORT County boss Peter Beadle is likely to include defender Andrew Thomas in his squad for tomorrow's crucial Conference South clash with Basingstoke Town (kick-off 3pm).

Central defender Thomas was jailed last year on assault charges along with County skipper Darren Jones but both were released last month.

Thomas has been training with the County academy and the Argus understands his fitness levels are extremely good.

He turned out for Macron Welsh League outfit Newport YMCA last weekend and impressed with an excellent performance.

The player is currently tagged as part of his release from prison but that only means he has to be at home between 7am and 7pm, making him available for the Basingstoke clash.

Boss Beadle explained: "Andrew could well be involved on Saturday, he's in good shape and by all accounts was excellent for the YM on Saturday.

"He has been training with our academy for a few weeks and is doing well, the only problem that we have is that he can't train with the senior squad because we train in the evening.

"We are trying to get that situation to change and are waiting for confirmation from the probation officers about the tag.

"It will be a boost to us to get him back and playing, and for home games we can get him back by 7pm so he is definitely in contention for tomorrow."

Beadle has told his players he wants them to play better than they did in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bognor but that he was impressed with their attitude in the same game.

"The boys were shattered after the Bognor game, they worked extremely hard and I can't fault that at all," he said.

"But what I do need from them is better concentration. If we can cut out silly mistakes we can get out of the situation we are in.

"Tomorrow is certainly a winnable game, we just need to ensure that we are sharp and focused because we need to get on a winning run quickly."

County are currently bottom of the league, two points behind Maidenhead United with Carshalton and Eastbourne four and six points clear respectively.

With things at the bottom of the league so well poised it couldn't be at a better time that Beadle finally has a fully fit squad.

Midfielder Lee Jenkins has returned to training following almost two months on the sidelines with a knee injury, though he is unlikely to start tomorrow.

Geraint Bater has shaken off flu and Andy Legg should have recovered from a stubbed toe. Legg managed to play for 70 minutes on Tuesday in his benefit game at Ninian Park.

The game was watched by a 5,500-strong crowd and was successful in raising a large amount of money for a series of cancer charities.