GOALKEEPER Tom King insists the Newport County AFC players are not using the speculation surrounding manager Michael Flynn as an excuse for Saturday’s defeat at Northampton Town and they’re determined to bounce back with a win tomorrow night.
County’s run of six successive clean sheets in League Two and 17 regular-season games without defeat came to an end at the weekend as they were beaten 2-0 at Northampton.
The defeat followed intense speculation over the future of Flynn, who has been strongly linked with a move to Lincoln City.
The Exiles boss remains the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Danny Cowley at Sincil Bank but he will be in charge of tomorrow night’s League Two clash at Macclesfield Town.
And King is adamant that it’s business as usual as County look to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible.
Asked about rumours linking the manager to the Lincoln job, the goalkeeper said: “It’s an easy excuse and we’re not using that.
“A number of the players, me included, will admit that we didn’t play to our full potential on Saturday.
“But the manager is here and he’s doing a great job and until we’re told otherwise, nothing has changed."
“We’ve proven as a team that we’re equipped to deal with setbacks and bounce back straightaway and our priority now is to start another run,” added King.
“We’re allowed one off day and we want to put it right now.
“We’ve analysed the match and we know where we need to improve.
“It was the first time we’ve been behind in the league this season so it was a new challenge for us and it was one we obviously didn’t deal with on the day.”
Macclesfield also suffered at the weekend as they were beaten 3-0 at Swindon Town and King is expecting a tough test against the Silkmen.
“They’re a good team and they’ll be looking for a reaction after they got beat at the weekend as well,” said the Exiles number one.
“We’re ready for a fast start and we know we might have to weather a bit of a storm before looking to impose ourselves on the game and hopefully coming back with three points.”
If they do win, there will be a trophy to lift as Paddy Power are billing the match as the ‘Unsponsored Derby’ between two teams who are part of their Save Our Shirt campaign.
As well as 'unsponsored' shirts, the advertising boards at Moss Rose have been covered (above) and the winners of the match will be crowned as the first ever SOS champions with a post-match trophy presentation planned as long as it doesn't end in a draw.
“I’ve heard there is some silverware on offer as well but we’re not too bothered about that,” said King.
“We just want to get back to winning ways and put Saturday behind us.
“Thankfully, the chance has come around really quickly to do that with this game and we’re determined to get back on track.”
Read more: Newport County boss still favourite for Lincoln City job
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