NEWPORT County AFC striker Rene Howe made himself an instant hero with the Rodney Parade faithful on Tuesday and he’s aiming to make the fans jump with joy again today.

The Exiles finally managed to get their promotion push back on track in midweek with their 3-2 defeat of third-placed Oxford United.

And for January signing Howe it was a night of new experiences as he marked his first game at Rodney Parade with a goal.

It was also the first time that the 27-year-old had experienced victory with his new club and he was delighted with the performance as well as the reception from the fans.

“I’ve been here a month and a half and that was my first home game. It was great atmosphere; I wasn’t expecting it to be so good,” he said.

“Hopefully there will be a lot more people there on Saturday as well and they can spur us on to another win.

“It was a big win against Oxford. It was their first loss away from home all season and we played well so that is another positive.”

Despite admitting his initial frustration at the fixture pile-up, Howe says the squad now see it as a chance to gain momentum for the promotion run-in and he’s targeting the top three rather than just the play-offs.

“We’re four games behind everyone else so it’s a good opportunity to get ourselves back up the table,” he said.

“I’m aiming for the automatics; I want to go on holiday on May 3! If you don’t think like that then you shouldn’t be in football, to be honest.”

The promotion push resumes this afternoon and Howe is in confident mood ahead of the visit of Cheltenham Town in what will be the second of five consecutive home games for County.

“I think we’ll win, we’ve been strong at home all year,” said the striker who joined from League Two rivals Burton Albion last month.

“We’ve got to just put in another good performance. If we keep on putting in performances like we did on Tuesday night then our opponents will have a problem.

“I’ve played against Cheltenham a few times and they’re always a tough team,” he added.

“I don’t think they’ve had a good time this year but they’ll still be hard to beat, just like any other team in the league.”