Can Newport avoid drop with spirit of great escape?

Nearly a decade on from Newport County's "great escape", they are again fighting for their Football League lives.

Back in 2017, newly appointed manager Michael Flynn inspired one of the most dramatic survivals in EFL history.

He steered the Exiles from 11 points adrift at the bottom of League Two to safety in the final minute of a remarkable final day.

Fast forward to this season and Newport are once again fighting for their survival with eight games to go.

This time Christian Fuchs is hoping to summon the spirit of that past close shave to avoid the drop despite County spending more than five months in the relegation zone.

It took a 3-1 win over Tranmere Rovers to finally steer the Exiles clear of the relegation places for the first time in 151 days on 3 March.

They won as many games, three, in the four-week spell as they had managed in the first four months of the league season to boost survival chances.

defeat by league leaders Bromley on Tuesday night - and Harrogate's win over Tranmere - has dragged Newport back to within a point of the relegation scrap.

Former Wales international Sam Vokes told the Feast of Football podcast that Newport will be "gutted" to have lost to the leaders having dominated much of the game.

Vokes also echoed the need for internal drive: "As players it has to come from within. You're fighting for your job, your livelihood. To stay in the EFL is huge. With eight games to go, that has to be the inspiration."

Being in the relegation battle is an uneasy deja vu for supporters.

This is the third successive season County - who finished 22nd last season - are fighting the drop despite manager Fuchs' earlier insistence they were not in a relegation battle.

Still, Fuchs takes positive from the match against top of the table Bromley who are unbeaten in 20 matches.

"I really enjoyed [how we are] playing with freedom, playing really good football in many stages of the game, and a lot to build on," said Fuchs

“The morale of the team [is] top. They are buzzing after the game, after the performance, and we need to take it in the next game. The effort they put in deserved more. I'm very proud of the team. We didn't deserve what we got [on Tuesday]."

Despite sitting just above the relegation zone, Newport have 31 points from 38 games, a point less than this stage in 2017.

But the crucial difference is, then, they were seven points adrift; now, they remain above the red zone and in control of their fate.

There is no hiding from the margins. According to Fuchs, County created "enough chances for three games" against Bromley, but the finishing touch continued to go awry.

They have scored six goals in their last six, but failed to net in three of those games, and their tally of 36 league goals is the division's fourth lowest.

Fuchs has called for his side to be "better in both boxes" as Newport have kept just six clean sheets and conceded 65 goals, the second most in the division.

They have also made the most errors leading to goals, with former Exile Corey Whitely's long-range winner on Tuesday coming from after another loose clearance.

Injuries could have started to derail Newport when Lee Jenkins was forced off on Tuesday with a shoulder problem and Michael Spellman limped off at Barnet, but Fuchs says "everybody is available" for the trip to Walsall besides his joint top-scorer.

The Austrian hopes Spellman will return before the season ends, adding that the squad's versatility and shared responsibility will be vital to survive.

"Everybody has a responsibility in their individual positions, but then together as a collective as well,” said Fuchs.

Newport enter this run with renewed belief after enduring a brutal stretch against top six sides, but with two wins from their last four hope remains, and Vokes expects "minimum" four points from their next two home matches.

Pivotal encounters against the current bottom two in Harrogate, before a potential final day decider at Barrow, means Newport's fate is far from sealed.

Former captain Jason Perry fears the Exiles may yet face relegation to the National League for the first time in 14 seasons, saying: "This [relegation battle] should have been spelt out months ago.

"But I saw in the second half against Barnet (Saturday, 14 March) in their performance, an organisation to the team for the first time. The challenge is can they repeat that for 90 minutes and they'll need to repeat that from now to the end of the season.

"If they do it they're capable of staying up. If they don't, well you get punished in football and you get what you deserve."

Eight cup finals remain. County have been here before and survived against far greater odds. So another "great escape" remains possible.