NEWPORT County AFC midfielder Robbie Willmott insists he is ready to put in the hard work required to succeed in League Two.

The 23-year-old has faced criticism in some quarters for being a luxury player – something that, so the argument goes, the Exiles cannot afford in the rough and tumble lower reaches of the Football League.

But Willmott had a hand in both goals as County beat Torquay United 2-1 at Rodney Parade on Saturday.

And he revealed that Ismail Yakubu’s opener, which came from Willmott’s perfectly delivered free-kick, was the direct result of extra hours on the training pitch.

“We’ve been working on that in training,” he said. “I’ve been coming in early or staying late with [assistant manager] Jimmy Dack to work on set-pieces and that worked out nicely.”

Willmott's role in the team requires less defensive work than many but he says he is not averse to tracking back to help out at the back when the need arises.

“I’ve been told to play in the hole just behind the strikers at the top of a midfield three so that sort of gives me licence to roam around,” he explained.

“The defensive side doesn’t come naturally to me but it’s the work you’ve got to put in to help the lads and I’m happy to do it.”

Willmott is pleased with the Exiles form after back-to-back wins over Exeter City and Torquay and he’s optimistic about the season ahead.

“We’re three points off second now,” he added. “And if we can string another couple of wins together then it pushes us up there and who knows what can happen?

“It is the same as the Conference; anyone can beat anyone and we can finish anywhere. We’ve just got to keep pushing on and keep working hard.”

Justin Edinburgh’s men now face three away games in eight days ¬– at Bury on Saturday and Rochdale a week later, with a trip to Crawley Town in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in between.

“It’s going to be a lot of travelling but it’s a good set of lads and we all travel well together,” said Willmott.

“Bury and Rochdale are not nice places to go. It’ll probably be another horrible game on Saturday but we’ve got to grind the results out.

“They are massive games for us. The win on Saturday was a big three points and if we can get results on the road in these two away games then who knows what can happen?”