Newport County have announced that manager Graham Coughlan has left the club by mutual consent, with Chairman Huw Jenkins saying that they want to move in a “different direction”.

Coughlan, who had been in charge for 20 months at Rodney Parade, recently guided the club to an 18th place finish in League Two.

Jenkins, who gave his backing to Coughlan in April, has wished the 49-year-old manager well.

“I have total respect for Graham and found this decision particularly difficult to make considering all the hard work he has put in to help stabilise the club over the last 18 months,” he said in a club statement.

Rollercoaster Season

After back-to-back wins in March, Newport lost their last eight games of the season, sliding from a potential play-off push to the bottom half of the table.

Newport’s 2023/24 season was characterised by peaks a troughs. A solid start to the campaign was followed by a run of one win eleven in September and October, while the Christmas period brought five wins and two draws in seven games, including a memorable 1-0 victory over Wrexham at a packed out Rodney Parade.

Newport County also had a good run in the FA Cup, reaching the Fourth Round and giving Manchester United a scare before eventually going out to a 4-2 defeat.

Despite this, it is clear that that poor run at the end of the season has spelt the end of the relationship between Coughlan and Newport, who are yet to signal who will be in the dugout next season.