IN the days when Welsh football used to slum it with the likes of Cuba, Oman, Uzbekistan and Panama in the FIFA world rankings, then boss John Toshack used to inform journalists of his bedroom habits.

Don’t be alarmed, the former Real Madrid manager was merely letting the press know about his vulnerability to an injury crisis by using the analogy of scrambling to stay warm under his duvet.

“When we have four or five players out it's very difficult to get any continuity at this stage in our development,” said Toshack. “If I pull the blanket over my head my feet get cold, and if I push it over my feet my head gets cold.”

The Newport Gwent Dragons management can share those sentiments after a couple of nightmare seasons.

In 2014/15 they endured a torrid time in the second row when Andrew Coombs, Ian Gough, Matthew Screech, Cory Hill and Joe Davies were all sidelined, although thankfully James Thomas did answer the call with some excellent performances after shifting up from his preferred back row position to partner Rynard Landman.

That same season the Dragons were down to the bare bones in midfield when Ashley Smith, Pat Leach, Jack Dixon, Ross Wardle and Tyler Morgan were all on the treatment table.

The centre woes continued last year and sadly there was little need for a selection meeting when it came to numbers 12 and 13 – Adam Warren and Adam Hughes came together through necessity to form an excellent partnership.

In fact, so successful was Warren in his first season in the east following his move from the Scarlets that he has special recognition on the wall of the stairwell at the Dragons’ Ystrad Mynach training base.

As you go up to the first floor of the building there are pictures of memorable moments – the win in Gloucester, victory in Pau, last year’s Singha Premiership 7s title success, beating Cardiff Blues – and the most recent addition is a collage of the centre to mark the fact that he started ALL of their 30 fixtures and played 2,638 minutes in 2015/16.

Warren’s durability helped the Dragons dodge a bullet to an extent but the load needs to be shared if performances aren’t to dip, especially given that the Anglo-Welsh Cup is back to add to the schedule.

The Dragons have moved to bolster their midfield ranks over the summer with Edinburgh’s Sam Beard and Northampton’s Pat Howard penning contracts to join the current crop.

Sod’s law suggests that the Rodney Parade region will have problems elsewhere this time and have a glut of centres jousting for two spots.

But the Dragons could do with two of their brightest talents dominating the jerseys; Dixon and Morgan need huge seasons and have to rack up the minutes.

Warren’s exploits mean that he deserves first crack in 2016/17 but in terms of potential there is little doubt who is top of the list.

Morgan’s promise was evident when he called upon by Warren Gatland at the World Cup and the 20-year-old from Caerleon has shown flashes of brilliance in a Dragons jersey.

The introduction of national dual contracts will help the Wales management ease the burden on internationals in conjunction with their regions but Morgan needs to string together a run of games if he is to develop after managing just six games in 2015/16 because of shoulder and hamstring problems.

Dixon was also poised for a big season after training with the national squad in the build-up to England 2015 only to suffer a career-threatening kidney injury on his return to the regional fold.

The 21-year-old from Newbridge – yes, he’s still only 21 – was understandably a bit sluggish when he made his comeback at the end of the campaign but should be fighting fit and hungry come September.

Dixon and Morgan have all the makings of a quality combo, the bulk and breakdown work of the former and the latter’s speed on the outside and lovely offloading game.

It’s unlikely that two players will dominate the 12 and 13 jerseys this season but the two Wales hopefuls may just hold the key to the Dragons enjoying a better 2016/17.

South Wales Argus:

PRE-SEASON friendlies can be an exercise in futility with there being absolutely no correlation between events on the pitch in July and when the real stuff gets under way in August.

Newport County AFC boss Warren Feeney has made it pretty clear that he isn’t one for glancing at the scoreboard when going up against the likes of Caldicot, Undy, Weston-super-Mare and Forest Green; for him it’s purely about fitness, touch and shape.

The former Northern Ireland international wasn’t fuming after his side were forced to scramble for a 2-2 draw against Welsh League Division One hosts nor was he chanting ‘we’re gonna win the league’ after hitting eight in Somerset.

Feeney is no doubt as interested, if not more interested, by what he is seeing on the training paddock as what is going on when his squad step over the white line.

It is perilous to draw too many conclusions from summer tune-ups and every good deed has an asterisk next to it.

However, one thing has been clear from my forays into covering the Exiles while our main football writer is off on his own pre-season training camp – they are blessed with leaders.

The beauty of grounds closer to the base of the football pyramid is that you are right next to the action, able to hear words of encouragement and admonishment.

It’s been a summer of change for County this summer with captain Mark Byrne among those that headed for the exit door.

Feeney is lucky to have plenty of options as his successor and that will help reinforce that old message about the armband not being a guarantee of a starting spot.

In Jamie Turley, Darren Jones, Joss Labadie, Scot Bennett and Mark Randall the manager has players who will lead by example even if they are not the one with ‘C’ next to their name on the teamsheet.

Ben Tozer will be a reassuring and experienced presence, Jon Parkin is a man who the rest of the squad would be well advised to listen to while trialist Paul Bignot has plenty of knowhow and has been communicating loudly to younger colleagues in pre-season.

Results don’t matter in pre-season but certain attributes need to be shown and the Exiles seem to have on-field leadership ticked off.