Look across the top four divisions and Newport County are in a bracket with the likes of Aston Villa, Brighton, Middlesbrough and League Two leaders Salford City given that they are unbeaten in their past five league games.

In fact, the Exiles have not lost in seven League Two fixtures and are unbeaten in nine matches across all competitions.

Yet outside Newport, defender Lee Jenkins suggests, County boss Hayden Mullins' work is going unnoticed.

"He's definitely not been given the credit he deserves," Jenkins said.

"What he's done compared to where we were this time last year, seven points adrift [compared] to what we are now, it's clearly showing [how well he has done]. The belief's massive."

While Newport are without a win in two after successive draws, their form remains a far cry from last season's struggles, when League Two survival was secured on the final day against Barrow.

Mullins insists the credit for Newport's improvement "definitely goes to the players".

"I'm really proud of what the boys are doing," he said.

"We're attacking every game, we're in every game and we look strong in every game. Our job as staff is to put a framework in place for how we want to play and set up. It's those guys on the pitch who go out and apply it."

But Mullins may not be giving himself enough credit.

Newport were crying out for stability after many managerial changes and prolonged relegation concerns, and the former Fulham Under-21 boss has brought that in abundance.

But Newport have still shown signs of vulnerability. Individual errors have seeped back in during their recent draws - a familiar theme from last season.

"The York game wasn't quite like us. It was a mistake in a dangerous area and they punished us," Mullins said.

"Tuesday [against Rotherham] was pretty similar. We suffered [after conceding] an early goal again. It's a clearance that we get wrong, it bounced up, hit Joe [Thomas]'s arm and we ended up conceding a penalty in the first three minutes."

Last year, those setbacks often led to heads dropping. Mullins felt his side could have let that happen - and gone on to concede "four or five" - in midweek.

But instead, Newport showed resilience and fought back, as they had against York.

"We've got experienced boys out on the pitch who know how to bring us back into the game," said Jenkins.

"The togetherness in the team shows how tight we are as a group. We all know what we're capable of now."

It is clear that confidence starts with the man in the dugout.

"The belief in the group now is right up there," Mullins said.

"We finished the game stronger [against Rotherham] and we were pushing."

Belief is sure to be tested when Mullins' side travel to Cheltenham Town on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Newport have been beaten in each of their last seven meetings with the Robins.

"I'm yet to win against them and it'd be nice to give the fans who travel away something big to cheer," Jenkins said.

Cheltenham are fifth in the table and have lost just once at home this season.

Having played under Robins boss Steve Cotterill at Portsmouth, Mullins knows exactly what awaits.

"I know his passion and his fight, and how his team will be set up," he said.

"We're in the middle of a really tough run, so we're expecting a tough game. Hopefully we can go there, get a result and give them a tough game back."