Following back-back-to-back defeats in the league against Bradford City and Notts County, Town will be hoping to triumph against rivals Newport County this afternoon.
The visitors return to the County Ground today in similar circumstances, as they fell short in a 2-1 loss at home to Harrogate last weekend.
The Exiles currently sit in 19th position with 14 points from their opening 12 games, which will give Town belief that they can gain three points this afternoon.
A lowdown on the visitors
Newport County, formed in 1912, were nicknamed the Ironsiders due to their proximity to the local steelworks. County began their journey in the Southern League, and reached the Fourth and Third Divisions, narrowly avoiding relegation out of the Football League in the late 1970s.
An eventual drop-down to the Fourth Division did take place for the club at the start of the 1980s, where the club were victorious in the Welsh Cup for the first time under manager Len Ashurst.
Placed in Conference South in 2004, they went on to be crowned champions in 2009/10 and after moving to their current stadium Rodney Parade in 2012, they returned to the Football League following a 25-year absence after winning the Conference National play-off final in 2013, with a 2-0 win over fellow Welsh club Wrexham under manager Justin Edinburgh.
In October 2015, the Newport County Supporter’s Trust took over ownership over the club, which cast a tricky spell for the Welsh side, before current Swindon Town boss Michael Flynn joined and led a drastic recovery for his hometown team.
Flynn was appointed with 12 league matches to go in the 2016/17 season, with current Town Assistant Manager Wayne Hatswell. A remarkable turnaround in fortune saw Newport avoid relegation, sealed by a 2-1 victory on the final day of the season at home against Notts County.
Last time out
The two sides have already met this season, with Newport coming out as 2-1 winners on the day. They have met 13 times, with 6 wins for both sides, and one draw.
Town won this exact fixture last season 1-0; they haven’t beaten Newport at home in back-to-back Football League matches since April 1968 (a streak of 6 games).
Head-to-head
18/19: Swindon Town 1-0 Newport County
18/19: Newport County 0-0 Swindon Town
19/20: Swindon Town 0-2 Newport County
21/22: Newport County 1-2 Swindon Town
22/23: Swindon Town 1-0 Newport County
22/23: Newport County 2-1 Swindon Town
The manager: Graham Coughlan
Graham Coughlan is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played for 10 different clubs in his senior career, with over 450 appearances, and has managed four different clubs to date. He was once named in the PFA Team of the Year in 2001-02 for the Third Division.
Coughlan first began his managerial career in the 2018/19 season with Bristol Rovers, where he first joined as a defensive coach, but was later appointed caretaker manager in December 2018 following the departure of Darrell Clarke and Marcus Stewart. He was appointed on a permanent basis after picking up ten points from a possible fifteen over the course of his caretaker spell.
In December 2019, Coughlan accepted an offer to become new manager of League Two club Mansfield Town, but later parted ways with the club after a poor start to the season. In March 2021, Coughlan joined Sheffield United U23s as a coach until the end of the season.
His current club, Newport County, the Irishman joined in October 2022 on a two-and-a-half-year contract after 14 league matches of the 2022-23 season. Newport finished that very season in 15th position.
Player to watch: William Evans
Newport’s Will Evans has scored nine league goals so far this season, who joined from Welsh side Bala town to play for former Newport boss James Rowberry in May 2022.
Born in the Welsh village of Llangedwyn, Evans progressed bizarrely through the youth system at Shrewsbury Town, and then joined Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2016, making 107 appearances and scoring 20 goals.
The 26-year-old made his Football League debut for Newport back in July 2022, in a 1-1 draw against Sutton United. Evans went on to make 52 appearances in his first professional campaign, with four goals to his name.
The winger has also made his international debut for Wales C team at the start of April 2022, scoring twice in a win against England’s C team.
This season, the Welshman has been deployed in a more attacking position under the current management of Graham Coughlan and sits as the leading top goalscorer for the club by some way.
