Oxford United’s former Newport County midfielder, Danny Rose, will put friendships on hold when the sides battle it out at Rodney Parade tonight.

Rose, 25, made 149 appearances for the Exiles, scoring 36 goals in a three-and-a-half year spell and was in that won the Conference South title in 2009-10.

He is relishing a return to his old stamping ground.

He was due to return for the first time since he left in 2012 on January 1, but that was called off because of a waterlogged pitch.

“I’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while,” said the former Manchester United Reserves’ skipper.

“It’s a club where I had three and a half really good years.

“I had a promotion and two successful seasons in the Conference. The season I left, they ended up going up, so they are doing pretty well.”

But while Rose still has affection for the Exiles, he will be fully focused on getting a victory.

He added: “I am still friends with a couple of the lads there, but we’re looking to get the three points.”