From basketball prospect to Newport's focal point

Long before Christian Doidge became Newport County's focal point in attack, he was operating on a different kind of sporting arena.

After being released by Bristol Rovers at 15, the striker fell out of love with football and turned his attention elsewhere.

A trip to Florida sparked an interest in basketball, and what began as a distraction with his mates soon developed into county-level basketball with Gwent ABC and eventually a place in the Wales Under-18 side.

"I went as far as I probably could in Welsh basketball," said Doidge.

"I'd have had to move away from home. It would have been a really hard career to stay in, and my heart was obviously with football."

The sport may have changed, but some of the qualities required are similar.

Now 34, Doidge is known for the aerial ability and physical presence that have helped him amass more than 200 EFL appearances.

And he believes basketball played a part in shaping his style.

"I'm known for my aerial strengths but in basketball you've got to get away from defenders to get a shot," he said.

"It's no different than being in the box when the ball's wide."

It was exactly that instinct that helped him get off the mark for Newport against Fleetwood Town last weekend, finding space in the penalty area before tapping home Matty Jacob's cross.

Newport manager Hayden Mullins, delighted to see his new number nine rewarded for "his hard work", praises Doidge for "work that people don't really see".

The statistics also show the striker's value to the Exiles.

Newport scored just 48 league goals last season, the sixth-lowest total in League Two, and failed to score in a third of their matches.

This season, County have found the net in every game in which Doidge has played.

He missed matches against Salford City - where Newport scored once - and Northampton Town - where County lost 1-0 - through injury.

In the four league matches Doidge has played, County have scored a total of nine goals.

Doidge has been on the pitch for six of those - directly contributing to three - but Mullins believes the veteran Welshman's influence extends beyond goals.

"With Doidge, he's a really important component," said the County boss.

"We need a presence as a nine. If we want to cross the ball, we need someone in the box who can finish it and knows their way around.

"If we're going from back to front, we need a number nine who can look after the ball or bring others into play and Doidgey does that really well."

While pace and creativity come from the wide areas, Doidge's role is crucial to the League Two side, as he provides a focal point that occupies centre-backs, protects possession and brings team-mates into play.

"It's great for me," Doidge said.

"He basically just tells me to stay in the centre of the pitch and that's music to my ears.

"It's helped the team to have a bit of a focal point and leave our wide men in one-on-one positions because that's what they're really good at."

Doidge's value extends beyond matchdays.

While his current goalscoring success offers encouragement to fellow forwards Kion Etete and James Crole as they near returns from injury, he is also an ideal role model for in-form Shaquille Gwengwe - who recently earned a call-up to represent Malawi in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

"[Crole and Etete] are similar profiles to what Doidgey is. Similar build, similar profile, [and hopefully] similar impact," Mullins said.

"Having him in the dressing room is priceless especially for Shaq.

"For Shaq to learn off Doidgy is great and is going to be important for him. It's real clever play and [Doidge] does it really well."

It is a role the former Forest Green and Hibernian player is embracing.

"We've got some young, exciting talent I want to see progress and it's about supporting them as much as I can," Doidge said.

Having finally joined the home-city club where he first trialled more than a decade ago, Doidge says playing for Newport has reignited his enthusiasm for the game.

While he feels this is the perfect place to end his career, he insists he still has a lot to give and says he has returned with "fire" in his belly.

With his Newport account now open, Doidge heads into Saturday's trip to Accrington Stanley (15:00 BST) with renewed confidence.

"Going into Accrington now, from scoring, it's always a nice position to be in," he added.

"You go in with that bit of confidence that you scored the week before."