NEWPORT County AFC midfielder Max Porter says the players are looking forward to playing away from home and getting away from the awful Rodney Parade playing surface.

The 0-0 draw with Fleetwood Town on Tuesday saw County complete a run of five home matches in a fortnight.

And with just five points picked up on the sand-covered pitch, Porter and teammates are relishing the prospect of playing on a decent surface at Mansfield Town on Saturday and Morecambe next Tuesday.

“The fans are great at home but I think we’re looking forward to playing away on a less heavy pitch,” said Porter.

“Hopefully it’ll be a more even surface and we’ll be able to play a bit of football.

“I think with our chances it was probably two points dropped on Tuesday. We’re a bit disappointed but again the pitch didn’t help.

“Rene (Howe) had a great chance that jumped up off the sandcastle and hit is knee but we put on a good performance and kept a clean sheet.

“The games are coming thick and fast and if we can get a win on Saturday then these two draws look like good results.

“That would be five points from three games and hopefully we’ll be looking up the table.

“We’ve got another seven games this month so we should know more about where we’re going to finish by the end of March.”

Exiles boss Justin Edinburgh went even further than Porter and claimed that the pitch cost his side a win against Fleetwood.

“The pitch cost us the game, it's as simple as that,” he said. “On any other pitch that (Howe’s chance) was in the back of the net.

“I’m frustrated. People can criticise my players but we’ve had to contend with that pitch every other week.

“Other teams come here once and I keep having other managers telling me ‘I don’t know how you do it’ and people need to realise what we’re playing on.”

Porter hopes to be fit for Saturday after being replaced on Tuesday but he accepts that he may have to be rested at some point after a long period out with a persistent groin injury.

“I got a bit of a niggle on my thigh, just as a consequence of the pitch being so heavy and playing three games in a week,” said Porter.

“Hopefully I’ll be alright for the weekend because I just want to keep playing.

“I’m delighted to be back and hopefully having an influence on the team but I know I won’t be able to play every game because we’ve got a great squad now and a lot of matches.”

Meanwhile former County defender Billy Jones has joined Tim Harris, who left his role as director of football at Rodney Parade last week, at Gloucester City.