MANAGER Graham Coughlan says he has changed his mind on contract offers for some members of his Newport County AFC squad because of the six-game losing streak.

The Exiles boss previously said that he didn’t expect there to be wholesale changes at Rodney Parade this summer.

However, the club have gone from being on the fringes of the League Two play-offs in mid-March to 16th in the table after six straight losses.

They host Salford tomorrow before a final day trip to Bradford, aiming to avoid matching the miserable eight-game streak suffered under Graham Westley in the winter of the Great Escape season of 2016/17.

County have been hit by injury and some of their squad are flagging after a heavy workload in the long campaign, but Coughlan is not one for excuses.

Plenty of players are approaching the end of their contracts - stalwart Scot Bennett, defender Harrison Bright, midfielders Harry Charsley, Aaron Wildig and James Waite, and strikers Omar Bogle and Offrande Zanzala.

In addition to that, the injured Ryan Delaney and Declan Drysdale have deals that expire while loanees Adam Lewis and Matt Baker are entering the final months of contracts with parent clubs Liverpool and Stoke.

South Wales Argus: FRUSTRATED: Newport County boss Graham CoughlanFRUSTRATED: Newport County boss Graham Coughlan (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

“I am not in talks with anyone over next year. To be honest, the last couple of weeks has been a little bit different,” said Coughlan.

“It has been tough viewing, I’ve looked at one or two players and I have kept changing my mind on them.

“The players still have everything to play for and if people want to be at the club next season and progress with us then they have got to start producing and bringing about better results than the last few games.”

After being tipped by many for a relegation scrap last summer, County were right in the mix for the play-offs when they won 2-0 at AFC Wimbledon on March 16.

Since then they have lost to Barrow, Colchester, Crawley, Grimsby, Accrington and Tranmere; results have been poor and performances have been flat.

“I knew in my mind what I wanted to do but the last six weeks hasn’t been good,” said Coughlan.

“When the chips are down and when you are up against it, you look in their eyes and see how badly they really want it.

“There was a process that we were going to go down but you do change your mind – do I judge the players up to March 16 or on the last six games?

“I can’t get over the fact that I am a manager who has been really hurt by the last six games, I don’t like what I have seen from my team.

“Is it time for a whole new approach and fresh faces or is it a time to sit back reflect and think that this group got us to two points off the play-offs?

“I do have a lot of thinking to do on a lot of people and a lot of issues, but I will sit down with each and every player at the end of the season, look them in the eye and have a professional, personal conversation.”