NELSON Jardim believes the grand surroundings of Bradford City’s Valley Parade can help his Newport County AFC side hit new heights.
The Exiles will hunt a third League Two win on the spin when they face the Bantams in Yorkshire tonight (kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports).
County enjoyed morale-boosting victories against Crewe and Salford on home soil but now try to repeat that away from home.
Jardim’s side were thumped 4-0 at Swindon and lost 2-0 in a one-sided game at Barrow in September.
However, with spirits lifted by Rodney Parade successes they will now attempt to upset the odds against a Bradford side who have played in front of crowds bigger than 16,000 so far this season.
That presents a new challenge for the inexperienced members of the new-look County side.
“They have to be prepared for it and they are here to be exposed to these type of grounds and crowds,” said head coach Jardim.
“That can only improve them and this will be a test and step forward for them. They have to play their football as normal, be focused and the energy from the crowd can be utilised to play even better.”
County endured a tough September before finishing the month with victory against Crewe and then backed up that success against Salford.
They have a healthy return of 15 points from nine games and sit ninth after the weekend action, nine points clear of the relegation zone and one off the play-offs.
However, Jardim knows the importance on building on their promising start with Bradford followed by Harrogate (away), Chesterfield (home), Gillingham (away), Fleetwood (home) before the first round of the FA Cup to start November.
“We’ve had two good and important wins but we know what is coming, it’s a very tough month with tough opposition,” said Jardim. “If we don’t carry on with our progress then it will be difficult.
“We shouldn’t be looking at the league table because it is still the beginning of the season. We are focused on how we are doing, how we are improving and how we are learning.
“They say the table never lies but there are a lot of games to go and we know there are things that we need to improve on.”
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