NEWPORT County AFC goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley has a message for his former teammates at Exeter City: you don’t scare us!
The Exiles number one returns to St. James’ Park today as Justin Edinburgh’s men look to get their season back on track.
Injury-hit County are without a win in League Two since the 1-0 victory over Bristol Rovers on August 17 and were beaten 3-2 at home by Morecambe last Saturday.
Pidgeley, who made ten appearances for the Grecians in League One in the 2011-12 season, is fully aware of the threat posed by his former team.
Paul Tisdale’s men are fourth in the table and are unbeaten since their own defeat to Morecambe on August 24.
But Pidgeley insists that County can earn their first away win in the league this afternoon.
“The bigger the occasion the more you get up for it and I feel we can rise to the occasion,” said the 29-year-old stopper.
“You can look at this run two ways; no win in four or one defeat in four.
“If we win this one then everything is back on track but the positive thing is that we’ve been in every game. We haven’t been turned over by anyone in the league.
“Nobody has beaten us off the park; we’ve lost by the odd goal or drawn games.
“We’re matching every team that we come up against and maybe last week might just provide us with the spark that we needed.”
And Pidgeley says the mood in the Exiles squad remains optimistic and confident ahead of today’s match.
“It’s not going to be easy because Exeter are a good team but they don’t scare me,” he said.
“Nobody in our dressing room is thinking ‘they’re fourth in the league, how are we going to win there?’
“We’re going there and we know we can win the game.”
And Pidgeley is hopeful of a good reception from the home fans this afternoon.
“I still know a lot of the lads at Exeter and my fiancé’s family are all there so I’ll have a few people coming to the game,” he added.
“It will be nice to see a lot of friendly faces and hopefully I’ll get a good response from the home fans.
“My time there was cut quite short due to lack of opportunity really but I settled in the area.
“Last year I was travelling to Newport every day from Exeter so it is a club that is close to my heart, but there’ll be no friendship once the whistle blows.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here