NEW boy Tom Naylor says he feels like he’s been playing with defensive partners Andrew Hughes and Harry Worley for months rather than days, writes Andrew Penman.

The three central defenders were outstanding as they shut out Bristol Rovers in Saturday’s 1-0 win for Newport County AFC.

The trio have an average age of just 22 but they never looked in danger of conceding as Justin Edinburgh’s side kept their first clean sheet of the campaign.

And Naylor will be confident of keeping his place for the trip to Dagenham & Redbridge despite the expected return to fitness of Ismail Yakubu and Tony James.

“I thought the team was outstanding and to keep a clean sheet in a derby and get the tree points was great for us,” said Naylor, who arrived on loan from Derby County last week.

“I think me, Hughesy and Harry looked solid at the back and they couldn’t get through us.

“We clicked straight away in training and on the pitch it felt like we’d been together for a few months.

“That is good for me because I’m on loan here and I want to impress,” he added.

The 22-year-old is on loan at Rodney Parade until January having been told he has no future at Pride Park.

“I missed playing because I wasn’t doing that at Derby,” he said.

“The previous Friday night I was just dossing about doing nothing so it was good to be preparing for a game this week and I really enjoyed getting out there and playing football.

“Once you step out on that pitch you just try to block everything out and do your job and we did pretty well.

“I’m looking forward to the next game now and if we get three points then we will be in a great position.”

Meanwhile, Bristol Rovers have announced that they are helping police investigate alleged racist chanting by their fans during Saturday’s match.

The club’s official Twitter account said: “Following reports of racist chanting at Saturday's game, we will be liaising with police and any individuals identified will be dealt with.”