West Sussex boy Mickey Demetriou believes Newport have come a long way since a young Ben White starred in their defence.

And they will look forward to proving it when Albion visit in the FA Cup.

White went to Gwent in 2017-18 to add a bit of steel to his game among battle-hardened pros fighting for their next contracts.

But he also brought a touch of silk and style to the League Two hurly-burly.

Demetriou, who has played football for Worthing and cricket for Findon in the past, told The Argus: “You always see certain things a player does on a football pitch.

“I remember one of his early games when he came to us.

“He was being chased down by a centre-forward in the corner and he just flicked it over his head and came out with it.

“Since then you knew he’s going to be a player.

“His ability on the ball, his calmness and the fact he can defend very well, you always knew he was going to be a good player. He has proved that to everyone now.

“He had a brilliant season at Leeds and to us boys at Newport it was no surprise.

“We saw it day in and day out with us.

“He was head and shoulders above everyone and now it’s pleasing to see him do it in the Premier League.

“He played left-back, right-back and centre-half for us.

“So he can play anywhere across the back line and he obviously can play centre-midfield, as he is for Brighton at the moment.

“Graham Potter thinks he is capable of doing it, otherwise he wouldn’t be playing there in the Premier League.

“I’m delighted for him. It looks like he has hit the ground running for Brighton.

“Obviously results haven’t gone too well but I hear he has been playing quite well and I’m watching how he’s doing very closely.

The Argus:

“We’ve been saying that, with how well he is doing, he probably won’t come and see us now.

“You never know, he might just come for the trip!”

White was a part of a Newport team who beat Leeds in the FA Cup and then drew with Tottenham.

A dodgy pitch and packed, hostile crowd helped them to those results.

Demetriou admits those fans will be missed this time.

But he says Newport are a different side now to during that cup run.

He said: “The fans were massive for us against the likes of Leeds and Spurs.

“It will be different for Brighton to come to us.

“The pitch isn’t playing as well as it was in the early part of the season.

“Hopefully that will be a bit of a leveller for us.

“Saying that, in a lot of matches this season we have played the ‘beautiful game’ as they say, playing from the back and trying to work our way to create opportunities to score goals.

“In the Carabao Cup, we beat Watford and we took Newcastle to penalties and they have both applauded us in the way we’ve played.

“So we’ve changed the style a little bit this year and it seems to be working.

“We missed out on the previous two games because of the pitch. One was waterlogged, one was frozen.

“It gave a chance for other teams to knock us off top spot.

“It’s a shame we weren’t able to try and stay there but we have got a game in hand now and hopefully we can make that count when we play it.”

The Newport trip is widely being seen as a potentially awkward one for Albion, despite the lack of home support.

Demetriou says Newport, under boss Michael Flynn, have moved on this year and will be keen to prove it. He added: “We have always been a good side.

“We are playing differently and maybe that has surprised other teams.

“We have played teams off the park a little bit and we have got good players scoring goals for us this year.

“The personnel has probably changed quite a bit since we played Tottenham and Leeds.

“We lost a few players at the end of the season before last when we made the play-offs. We lost some players last season as well.

“The manager and rest of the staff have recruited well, as you can see.

“We are playing more football and, fingers crossed, it’s working.”

Demetriou retains strong West Sussex links, not least with Worthing chairman George Dowell.

He helped spread the word when the Isthmian League outfit were fund-raising during lockdown.

Dowell famously invested his insurance pay-out into the club after injuries sustained in a car accident left him in a wheelchair.

Demetriou said: “George used to play under my dad for Worthing under-18s before he had his accident so we knew each other from there.

“I just tried to help as I could by sharing a few things on social media. They did very well in the fund-raising.

“I tried to spread the word for him because they are close. That’s where I started my football career.

“I always look out for the teams I played for in previous years and, them being my hometown club, it was nice to help them out.”

NEWPORT BOSS STILL BACKING WHITE FOR ENGLAND

Worthing, in turn, closely follow the progress of one of their own.

Where that progress will take him during 2021 remains to be seen with his contract due to expire this summer.

He is by no means alone in that at Newport. That is how life is in that real world into which White was sent as he emerged from under-23s football with the Seagulls.

LAMPTEY FACING ALBION LAY-OFF

Demetriou said: “I think everyone in our team bar one player maybe, if I’m right, is out of contract this year.

“Everyone has got a lot to play for, whether it is personal reasons - to try and get a new contract at the club.

“We will be on TV so hopefully the boys can show what they can do in front of the cameras.”