Newport County hope academy talent follows Kiban Rai lead

There wasn’t too much cheer from last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Salford City, with Coughlan lamenting “ugly” parts of their game, but there was a magic moment with three minutes to go.

Chasing a late leveller, County turned to Kiban Rai.

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder came on for his senior debut and went one step further than 18-year-old defender Evan Cadwallader, who had been an unused substitute in the games against Hartlepool and Sutton.

The Exiles still have work to do to completely banish any slight fears of a relegation scrap but Coughlan and Dunne are already looking to the future.

That is, of course, nothing new and Michael Flynn prided himself on handing out plenty of club debuts while James Rowberry brought Harrison Bright, Jack Karadogan and Tom Stokes into the first team fold.

But the new regime are more than just firefighters brought in to steer the club away from the frightening prospect of a return to the National League.

Coughlan may be seen as a savvy League Two operator but he headed for County from working with Sheffield United Under-23s while right-hand man Dunne cut his coaching teeth with Colchester United’s age-grade teams.

They are charged with developing the likes of Priestley Farquharson and Will Evans, who are still Football League novices despite being in their mid-20s, in the first team but also want to develop their own.

Evan Cadwallader warming up for Newport County at Hartlepool (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

“The gaffer and I will turn up at academy training session unannounced to watch,” said Dunne.

“It’s important that the club has that understanding that when a young player is training, there is a reward for doing it correctly and improving yourself rather than ticking along.

“We have shown that with one or two of the individuals that have come into the group.

"Kiban has made his first appearance in the league and is a young player who has talent, but the key thing is that he has the application and attitude to go with it.

“We are excited about working with players like him and Evan going forward.”

County’s budget means that they have been reliant on developing talent from clubs higher up the pyramid on loans.

That will remain a key part of their strategy but Newport’s next generation from their category three academy, now led by Luke Hussey, has a part to play in demanding campaigns.

Graham Coughlan and Joe Dunne (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

“We will have to supplement our squad because we are not a big-spending club. We need to have the right eye to say that a player can supplement if there is an injury,” said Dunne.

“It’s not just about saying ‘here, have a game’, we are looking at whether the academy or development players can help us if we have four of five injuries.

“That will be vital going forward as a club because we can’t just make a lot of signings, the academy has an important role and we need to rely on them.

“We have visited a few times and the gaffer has taken sessions as well. We have invited the under-18s to train with the squad that need top-ups, those that haven’t played the minutes in games.

“We are able to get them into a more intensive environment of the first team and working under the gaffer. It’s important they understand the levels that you need to train at.

“Then we will drop in on their training sessions and see whether their intensity is good enough – we were there the other night with under-13s, 14s, 15s and 16s.

“You are not going to produce lots but one or two can supplement the squad, and then maybe one day you might get a return on the investment.”

County might be competing with Cardiff, Swansea and the Bristol clubs for talent but they hope to produce a few gems.