Brabin believes Town will bounce back

ASSISTANT boss Gary Brabin is backing Hatters to bounce back from the disappointment of Saturday’s defeat to Fleetwood when they visit Newport County tomorrow night (Friday), writes Mike Simmonds.

Boss Richard Money called for a response in training after his side were soundly beaten 3-1 at the weekend, and Town’s number two insists he has witnessed that.

Brabin said: “Saturday was a massive disappointment, but the players have come in and trained and after Monday they were bright and breezy and are looking to get back on track.

“We still think we are in it (the title race) until the end and we’re a confident side.

“We believe that we can bounce back from that match.”

Opponents Newport have undergone some major changes in recent weeks, with manager Dean Holdsworth leaving to join Aldershot, while leading scorer Craig Reid moved to Stevenage Borough.

Going the other way in the deal was Yemi Obudabe and Charlie Griffin, while County have also snapped up forward Steven Lennon from Irish side Dundalk.

Taking over the reins after Holdsworth’s departure on a caretaker basis was director of football Tim Harris, while former Hatter John Hartson has been appointed as part-time striker coach for the rest of the season.

Brabin continued: “Newport are going through a bit of a transitional period with Holdsworth leaving, who had done very well.

“But they have brought in some quality players who are experienced at this level and in some ways are possibly a bit stronger now.”

County have gone four league and cup games without a home win, but they did beat Merthyr Town 1-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night with Odubade on target.

After the game, Harris said: “It was a good workout in tough conditions and most importantly there were no injuries ahead of Friday’s match against Luton Town.”

For Hatters, Jake Howells is major injury doubt after he was stretchered off last weekend, but Freddie Murray began his comeback with 75 minutes for the reserves in midweek.