STRIKER Jamille Matt says Newport County must step up to the challenge of being “more of a marked team” this season.

Matt also reckons other League Two sides “are worried about us” because of “what we’ve achieved and the players we’ve got”.

County go to Bradford City on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) in the hope of getting their league form back on track after three successive defeats.

They have, however, progressed in the FA Cup and Leasing.com Trophy since losing the last of those on November 23.

“Winning breeds confidence and the boys are quite a confident group anyway,” Matt told iFollow Exiles.

“We’ll be going to Bradford confident. It’ll be a big crowd up there because they’re a massive club for this league.

“We’ll go there with confidence that we are a good team and we can go there and get a result.

“We’re more of a marked team this year because of the success we’ve achieved in the past. People talk about us more now because of what we’ve achieved.

“We’ve got to step up to that challenge and kick on for the rest of the season, trying to get more success so that more people are talking about us.”

He added: “Teams are worried about us when we go to play them because of what we’ve achieved and the players we’ve got in the squad.”

County head to Valley Parade to face the Bantams, one of manager Michael Flynn’s former clubs, following Tuesday’s Leasing.com Trophy victory over Brighton’s

under-21s on penalties.

“It’s just a case of winning as many games as you can,” he said. “If you keep winning then you’ve got a good chance of getting to the final and it’s another chance for us to get to Wembley.

“Some of the squad got to taste that last year with the play-off final, albeit not the result we wanted, but it’s something we’re aiming for now and why not try to get some silverware if we can.”

On Bradford, he added: “I've played at Valley Parade once before and scored so hopefully that’s a lucky omen for Saturday, if selected.

“It’s a good experience to play there and we’ll be going there trying to get a win.”

The Newport County AFC carol service is next Monday at St John’s Church in Maindee (7pm).

There will be readings by players, directors, management and supporters, while the U3A and Eveswell School choirs will be in attendance.

The service will be led by club chaplain Rev Keith Beardmore.