Ryan Haynes: Aaron Lewis has shown his class for Newport

Lewis had endured a frustrating first half of the season when he couldn't get a look-in because of the form of Haynes down the left and Liam Shephard on the right.

The loanee returned to Lincoln in January but was released by the Imps and decided to have another crack at the Exiles.

Lewis' decision paid off when Haynes suffered a groin injury at the start of March – he got his foot in the door and has been arguably the star player of the run-in.

That was initially down the left but the return of Haynes led to a rejig with Lewis adding energy down the right and Shephard moving to central defence.

Perhaps it's a sign of the County spirit or maybe it's because the number 3 came straight back in, but Haynes was delighted to see his 'rival' showcase his talent.

27.04.21 - Newport County v Scunthorpe United - SkyBet League Two - Aaron Lewis of Newport County is challenged by Mason O'Malley of Scunthorpe.

"He's a really good player. I rate him highly and it was nice to see him performing well," said the 25-year-old from Daventry.

"I am not one of those people that sits there thinking 'oh no, he's playing better than me'.

"I am not that type of person, I was happy for him and liked to see him doing well. It was nice to see him out there."

The pair are now joining forces to give the Exiles a double threat in the race for the play-offs, and have helped keep three clean sheets on the spin.

Haynes has been a key component of County's promotion push and had played in 39 of 42 games in all competitions, missing the league game at Leyton Orient and a pair of EFL Trophy fixtures, until injury struck.

The groin niggle wouldn't go away, with several late fitness calls failed, but the wing-back hopes to reap the rewards of a cautious approach in the run-in.

06.03.21 - Colchester United v Newport County - Sky Bet League 2 - Ryan Haynes of Newport County and Junior Tchamadeu of Colchester United

"It was really frustrating and took a tiny bit longer than we had hoped," said Haynes. "You can't really rush those things, rush back and something worse might have happened.

"That would have been even more annoying, so it was best to take our time.

"It has been that type of a season where it has been so full on with Saturday, Tuesday pretty much every week.

"That is strenuous on the body and maybe that caused the tiny breakdown, but I feel good now. As a wing-back you need to be going into every game fit, and I feel that now."

Haynes will be pivotal as County look to produce the goods in their last two regular season games in order to earn a trio of play-off fixtures.

The defender was part of Coventry's promotion-winning squad that went up from League Two after beating Exeter City at Wembley in 2018, the year after he had started in the Sky Blues' EFL Trophy triumph against Oxford in front of 74,434 fans.

Another successful outing at the mone of English football is the target for Haynes, who is relishing a tense run-in that is making County supporters anxious.

"It's more excitement than nerves, it's something that you enjoy," he said. "We are in control of what happens and are looking forward to the challenge.

"Hopefully if we perform well we can get the three points against Cheltenham and move on."