Hayden Mullins: Newport County boss aims to build on impressive home starts

Newport County boss Hayden Mullins is confident the Exiles' home form can provide the platform for a more comfortable League Two campaign this season.

Newport did not win at home until 29 December in the past season, when they beat Crewe Alexandra 23 games deep into the competition.

The contrast to this season is notable.

Mullins' side opened their campaign with a convincing 3-0 home win over Rochdale before following it up with a draw against Tranmere.

"The positives are the home form is quite strong," said Mullins. "We've played two games, picked up four points, and that's something we want to build on.

"We need to keep adding to that, and then the away form is something we need to address and look at."

Having seen his side lose to an 87th minute goal at Northampton in their most recent outing - four days after conceding two late goals to lose at Salford - Mullins will be pleased to be back home this weekend when Fleetwood Town visit south Wales on Saturday, 12 September (15:00 BST).

"At home, what I've tried to do is concentrate on us and make sure our start is good," said the former West Ham midfielder.

"Before the Northampton game, we'd taken the lead in every game we'd played. Our starts are right where they should be."

As Mullins pointed out, Newport have taken the lead in five of their six league matches this season, though they have not always converted their positive positions into points.

Newport are yet to pick up a point on their travels this season and have lost 11 away league games during the 2026 calendar year, the most of any English Football League (EFL) side.

Their attacking output on the road has also dropped significantly.

Newport registered just six shots across their last two away matches compared to 23 in their previous two home games.

And concerns are growing with the Exiles' current tally of four points mirroring last season's start under Dave Hughes - a season in which County only avoided the drop on the final day.

"We've done a lot of travelling. Three of the last four games have been away, so it's been tough for the boys," Mullins explained.

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