THE signs are promising on Newport County’s new squad and management team but expectations for next season must be realistic.

This might already sound defeatist a full month ahead of a competitive kick even being taken, but I find it virtually impossible to see Newport matching their top ten finish in League Two last term, let alone challenging for the play-off positions.

In a world where money is king and the next best alternative in stability and a clear ethos, an overview of what you want to achieve as a club, it’s hard to see County excelling on either front next term.

Disarray of the field is pretty accurate, Newport a club without a chairman or a recognisable board of directors, instead now run by one man – Howard Greenhaf – with a plethora of non-executive directors.

I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that non-executive directors such as Nathan Blake and Chris Blight are helping and contributing and adding value to the club, but the fact remains, the supporters aren’t having any of this work communicated to them.

All the amber army know is that Les Scadding is going and the Supporters’ Trust are looking to take over the running of the club, a process which is now ongoing.

It appears things are moving along on that front, Mr Scadding confirming negotiations continue and the Trust issuing the following statement.

“The Trust would like to thank the club for their quick response in now sending over the information required to Supporters Direct. “The Due Diligence report should now be finished this week, with a planned meeting between the Trust and Supporters Direct to be held on July 15.

“At this point information is shared with the Trust and with the advice from Supporters Direct plans are made on how we move forward.

“We will try to keep fans regularly updated as we progress.”

I’ve made it abundantly clear that I favour the approach of the club being supporter-owned, I think you are the best long-term bet for a sustainable Football League club, but that is going to mean at least this season is about treading water in League Two.

With a budget of around £850,000, Newport County have gone from being a mid-table side in terms of their financial outlay to a bottom six one, the equivalent of having an Everton or a Southampton sized wage bill one season and a Swansea or Norwich one a year later.

Now, it didn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility for last season’s squad to punch above their weight. They had been together for a long time, were strengthened incrementally by their established manager and had a clear style and shape about their play.

That the Exiles nearly made the play-offs wasn’t a huge surprise. Though their run of form and the consistency they showed up until February was nothing short of superb.

However, it would be entirely unfair to have the same expectations of Butcher and his charges, an entirely new squad thrown together in a couple of months, rather than a few years.

The fact is, recent history shows us that Newport County don’t respond fast to ‘new broom’ management.

Both Dean Holdsworth and Anthony Hudson were charged with revamping the squad, with re-building from one era to the next and both started horribly.

For Hudson that meant losing his job and being deemed a doomed appointment, whereas Holdsworth earned himself time by listening to the right people.

A link-up with Tim Harris on the recruitment front and the arrival of Matt Bishop as a coach meant Holdsworth was able to navigate the treacherous waters of his first season and set sail for promotion to the Conference. Once he was happy with the squad he had, he went from being a perennial tinkerer to someone who nearly always opted for familiar shape and personnel. The season was a record-breaking one and that was a key reason why.

Butcher and his team of Steve Marsella and Russell Osman will be totally reliant on each other and have a drastically reduced budget and totally new squad to work with. They are also dealing with off the field uncertainty and know the ownership of the club could change in their tenure. None of that makes doing their jobs easier.

It was almost bizarre to be hoping County could win the £250,000 Sky Bet Transfer Fund competition last week, because even if they’d have scooped the jackpot, that figures represents only half of the cut from last term.

Butcher is essentially being given the remit of achieving similar results to last term with a squad that is unproven and unfamiliar at League Two level and that’s entirely unfair. Based on that criteria, he has little chance to make an instant impact.

We must reassess what is realistic for this term with so much to be resolved off the field and so little time to find familiarity on it with such a massive turnover of players.

I’d take a mid-table finish now and if I’m honest, survival will be fine as well, though you’d want to see signs of improvement throughout the campaign.

In terms of the need for a cool head and someone who can be at the helm for the establishment of a new era – and hopefully a very professional one – Butcher, a big name and a master of PR – could be exactly the right man at the right time.

Because there is only so much he’s going to be able to achieve on the pitch for Newport County AFC, in the short-term at least.