NEWPORT County AFC star Josh Sheehan admits he hasn’t given up hope of playing for Wales, but his first priority is helping the Exiles get back to winning ways in League Two this afternoon.

Sheehan has been County’s best performer so far this season and manager Michael Flynn has already stated that he expects interest in the midfielder from rival clubs in January.

But the 24-year-old, who is contracted until 2021, insists he’s happy at Rodney Parade and still looking to improve his game.

And, having won 12 caps at under-21 level, he’s also hoping to follow in the footsteps of his Exiles teammate Tom King by catching the eye of national manager Ryan Giggs.

“Every player has ambitions,” said Sheehan. “You see Kingy getting in the Wales squad and people want to play for their country.

“You have dreams to play for your country and I’m not going to give up on that.

“I’m going to keep going until I get to my goal.

“Every player wants to play as high as they can and, hopefully, we can do that with Newport County.”

Asked about links to other clubs, Sheehan said: “I’m not aware of any interest. I’m not listening to rumours; I just play my game.

“As long as I’m playing well for Newport, I’m happy.”

The former Swansea City academy player has certainly been in impressive form so far this season, but he believes he can still improve.

“I am pleased with my own performances but I want to keep stepping it up as well, because I feel like I can do better again,” he said.

“People are saying I’m playing well, but I feel like I can do a lot better.

“I want more goals and more assists. I want to make a big impact on games and affect things more in the final third.”

South Wales Argus:

Sheehan hopes to inspire County to a home against Stevenage this afternoon as they aim to halt a run of four successive defeats in League Two.

“We haven’t been scoring as many as we should and, hopefully, I can contribute to that and get us going,” he said.

“We’re just not clicking in the final third at the moment but, as soon as we get one or two, I feel like we can kick on.

“We need to put a performance in. It’s not acceptable that we’ve lost the last four [in the league].

“But, even when we’re not playing well, we’ve always been in the games.

“So, if we can turn the performance levels up, I’m sure we can get the win.”

Flynn’s men have been hit by injury and illness in recent weeks but that is no excuse, according to Sheehan.

“This is the chance to show our character,” he said.

“We’ve got to dig in and for everyone in the squad, even the boys who haven’t been in from the start, this is their time now to shine.”

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