MAGPIES’ manager Mark Jermyn hailed the efforts of his players after their triumph at Merthyr Town and insisted there are “exciting times ahead” for his squad.

The Magpies ended a run of two games without a win with a 4-2 success at Penydarren Park, thanks to goals from Nathan Walker, Luke Holmes, Toby Holmes and Liam Sayers.

And nobody else was more proud than Jermyn, who was delighted with the way his side dug in to seal a winning result against a Martyrs outfit he rated highly.

He told Echosport: “I think irrespective of results people need to appreciate that Merthyr are a good side, they are very good at passing the ball and are lively up front.

“I think we worked hard, we weren’t at our best but it was more of a dogged performance.

“A lot of credit must go to the players, they worked hard and got the result.

“We certainly created our chances and did the business.”

Both Sayers and Toby Holmes came off the bench for the county town side and got their names on the scoresheet.

And Jermyn insisted the timing was right to make the switches when both individuals came on to make an impact.

He added: “For the substitutions that we made, credit must go to Nick (Crittenden) and Stuart (Heath) because we can only talk about things before the game and what we think is going to happen. But they got the timings of the substitutions right, saw the opportunity, and did it.

“Liam is kind of our little super sub at the moment because he comes on and is very sharp. He has done extremely well.

“All round I am pleased for everybody. The supporters were fantastic, we were a long way from home and they were tremendous.

“I take my hat off to them because conditions weren’t great and they travelled some miles and it is really appreciated by the players and staff alike.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the campaign, the Avenue chief added: “We have a points total in mind of where we want to get to and we are well on target to achieve that with the games we have remaining.

“I think in recent weeks we may have got a little carried away and ahead of ourselves, we just need to take stock of what we want to achieve this season. It was stability, I’m not going to lie.

“But now that we are doing well I think it’s important to run with it as well and see what we can achieve. We have enough games to put us in a very good place to finish – there are exciting times ahead.”