COUNTY v ACCRINGTON (Tomorrow, KO 3pm)

NEWPORT County AFC manager Justin Edinburgh admits that picking the team for tomorrow’s historic clash with Accrington Stanley has been tough.

County play their first Football League fixture since May 1988 and every member of the squad is desperate to start.

And with Robbie Willmott fit, Edinburgh has a full squad to pick from apart from Mike Flynn (hamstring) and Aaron O’Connor (groin).

“We’ve been gearing up for this since the day we came back and they all want to be in that starting XI or the 18,” said Edinburgh.

“It will probably be the toughest selection because I know what it means to every player.

“Some players are stepping into the Football League for the first time. Some are getting a second chance of a return that they maybe didn’t think they’d get.

“So there are going to be some tough decisions to make and some disappointed players.

“But the ones that do miss out I know will be 100 per cent behind the team.”

Edinburgh is optimistic that O’Connor will be back in around five weeks and he believes that the squad can cope without last season’s top scorer for the time being.

“Aaron saw a specialist on Wednesday and had some work done on the injury so he’s got complete rest now for ten days and then he can pick up his rehabilitation,” added the Exiles boss.

“I think he’ll be another four or five weeks because he’s a quick healer but the big thing is that he didn’t need an operation and he can heal naturally and hopefully stay injury-free throughout the season.

“He had an unbelievable start to the season before he was disrupted by injury and I think we dovetailed quite nicely with Christian Jolley coming in.

“It’s disappointing that Aaron is not fit to start the season but we had goals throughout the team so I’m not concerned about that.”

Edinburgh is confident of picking up three points against Stanley and is hoping for a big crowd to cheer his side on to victory.

“The fans have got to play their part, as they have since I’ve been here, and they’ve got to get behind us in great numbers,” he said.

“Everyone has spoken about where the club has come from and the dark days of the past and now everyone has got the chance to get behind us on Saturday.

“We have the support here. The last home game against Grimsby shows how many home fans we can attract to Rodney Parade and we want that kind of support on a regular basis.

He added: “Defeat won’t be make or break the season but we want to get off to a good start.

“We need to look at the first 15 games to find our feet and evaluate where we are from then.”