NEWPORT County AFC striker Tristan Abrahams says the time for excuses is over and admits the players have “got to be better” to end the 10-game winless run in League Two.

Abrahams was on target against Cheltenham Town on New Year’s Day, but his ninth goal of the season was not enough to secure the three points as the visitors equalised four minutes from the end.

And the 21-year-old doesn’t spare himself from criticism, conceding that he should have had more than one goal against the Robins.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” said Abrahams. “I think the boys were excellent throughout the whole game and we should have put the game to bed.

“Myself and Jamma (Jamille Matt) had big chances, and Labs (Joss Labadie) in the first half.

“We had the chances and I should have had another goal in the second half.

“I don’t think we can make excuses about it; we’ve got to be better.

“We’re making the chances and we’re just not taking them.

“We’re making games harder for ourselves; if we do take them then we put the game to bed.

“But we allowed them to get back into the game and I think the goal we conceded at the end was too easy.

“With the league we’re in and the level we’re playing at we know that if you give the opposition the opportunity, they will take it.

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“I think we can take a lot of positives from the recent games. We are getting better, but we’ve just got to get the win now,” he added.

“It’s got past the point where we make excuses. There are no excuses now; we’ve got to make these draws into wins and try to climb the table again.

“You have to dust yourself off and we’re lucky we’ve got another game on Saturday when we’ll try to build on it.”

Tomorrow’s match sees County take on Championship high-fliers Millwall at The Den in the FA Cup third round and Abrahams is eager to experience some of the cup success that the club enjoyed before his arrival last summer.

“It’s obviously a big game in the FA Cup,” he said. “There are no points up for grabs, but we’ll be trying our hardest to get the win.

“This club has got a rich history in the FA Cup and hopefully we can beat them.

“I’ve watched Newport in the FA Cup. Everyone knows what they’ve done and I can see how much it means to the club and to the boys.

“I want to be involved in that. I want to play at the highest level and this is an opportunity to test myself against better opposition.

“They’re a good side and it will be a tough test but we’ll look for their weaknesses and hopefully we can exploit them.”

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