Newport County are in good shape after 15 League Two matches and ready to step up their promotion push.

Their gritty 1-1 draw against Bury in Greater Manchester is a positive result, while the return of Joss Labadie has added to the feel good factor at Rodney Parade.

Manager Michael Flynn and his team are preparing for Saturday’s home clash with struggling Morecambe knowing a win would be a massive plus.

They also have an Emirates FA Cup first round tie at Southern League Metropolitan Police to come next month.

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Former Cardiff City striker scored for Bury in the midweek clash with County, while Jamille Matt equalised with an instinctive goal from close range.

MK Dons were the only club above the Exiles to pick up all three points and the gap to the automatic promotion places stays at one point, while no teams directly below County won either.

Labadie’s return is a big plus and he said: “I’m absolutely buzzing to be back.

“It’s good to finally get this over the line and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things.

“The knee is all good and I can’t wait to get going now. It’s been a long seven months.”

Flynn underlined his delight at the signing, saying: “I’m over the moon to have Joss back.

“He’s a fantastic player, a great leader and adds quality to what we already have.

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Joss is somebody that I’ve got a lot of time for.

“We have an extremely good relationship and he’s somebody who can improve the football club and the team. It was a no-brainer really.

“I’d like to thank the people who made it happen. It’s all good manager’s asking for things, but I think this one is worth it. Joss Labadie is worth it.

“He’s coming back stronger than ever and I’m really looking forward to him playing. Thanks to all the Trust and Board members for making this a reality.

“I’ll be looking to do the same again in January as well. You want to keep improving and strengthening and let’s hope we can do that.”

The return of Labadie was made possible by the work of Newport’s club Trust and individual board members.

Former Dagenham and Tranmere midfield player Labadie, 28, made more than 50 appearances for the Exiles during his first spell with the club.

He was the captain to led Newport to safety in their League Two relegation battle and the FA Cup fourth round.

An injury sustained in training ended his season early in 2017-18, but now he is back to fitness.

Flynn made three changes to his staring line-up for the match at Bury.

Defender Fraser Franks started his three-match suspension after being sent off during a 4-1 defeat against Crawley and was replaced by Tyler Forbes.

Mark O’Brien returned for Josh Sheehan, while Robbie Willmott took over from Antoine Semenyo.

But had 63 per cent possession in the first half and passed the ball fluently, but were unable to open up a disciplined and organised Newport team.

Playmaker Danny Mayor, playing his 300th match for the home team, was at the heart of their attacks and his pass led to Bury’s goal.

Maynard turned Mickey Demetriou before curling a stunning shot past goalkeeper Joe Day from 20 yards.

Matt levelled the scores after 56 minutes with his ninth goal of the season following Semenyo’s pass into the penalty area.

“It was a lot more like us – hard-working, hard to beat – and, even though it wasn’t great at times, we dug in,” said Flynn when he reflected on the performance.

“It’s a big statement from the players to come to a place like Bury, don’t play as well as they can, and come away with a point. That’s brilliant for them.

“We looked to hit them on the counter, but had to keep our shape and try to keep Danny Mayor off the ball because he was the outstanding player. The best I’ve seen in the league so far this season.”

Andrew Crofts, Matty Dolan, Tyreeq Bakinson, Keanu Marsh-Brown and Labadie all missed the game because of fitness doubts.

A total of 88 fans travelled to Bury and Flynn said: “They were excellent and didn’t stop singing, even when we were losing.’

Newport County AFC (3-4-1-2): Day, Butler, Demetriou (capt), O’Brien, Pipe, Forbes, Bennett, Cooper (Semenyo 52), Willmott (Pring 84), Amond, Matt. Subs not used: Townsend, Harris, Sheehan, Foulston, Hillman

Bury FC (3-5-2): Murphy, Stokes, Aimson, Thompson, Nicky Adams, Mayor, McFadzean, O’Shea, Danns (capt) (Barjonas 84), Telford (Dagnall 66), Maynard. Subs not used: Hudson, Dawson, Edwards, Cooney, Joe Adams

Referee: Martin Coy

Attendance: 3,072 (88 away)

League Two table

		MP	W	D	L	F	A	D	P
1			Lincoln City	15	10	3	2	30	13	+17	33
2			Milton Keynes Dons	15	8	6	1	19	9	+10	30
3			Exeter City	15	8	5	2	25	13	+12	29
4			Newport County	15	8	4	3	22	25	-3	28
5			Colchester United	15	7	4	4	29	16	+13	25
6			Forest Green R…	15	5	9	1	23	14	+9	24
7			Tranmere Rovers	15	6	6	3	18	15	+3	24
8			Bury	15	6	5	4	24	16	+8	23
9			Crawley Town	15	7	2	6	23	20	+3	23
10			Stevenage	15	6	4	5	16	14	+2	22
11			Mansfield Town	13	4	8	1	17	9	+8	20
12			Oldham Athletic	14	5	5	4	18	13	+5	20
13			Carlisle United	15	6	2	7	16	19	-3	20
14			Yeovil Town	14	4	6	4	21	16	+5	18
15			Swindon Town	15	4	6	5	17	20	-3	18
16			Port Vale	15	5	3	7	14	19	-5	18
17			Crewe Alexandra	14	4	4	6	14	14	+0	16
18			Northampton Town	15	3	6	6	16	20	-4	15
19			Grimsby Town	14	4	3	7	10	18	-8	15
20			Morecambe	15	4	1	10	14	27	-13	13
21			Cambridge United	15	3	3	9	14	27	-13	12
22			Notts County	14	3	3	8	17	32	-15	12
23			Cheltenham	14	2	4	8	10	21	-11	10
24			Macclesfield	15	1	4	10	13	30	-17	7