KEEP ‘EM COMING ON, URGES FLYNN
A MESSAGE to all Non-League managers from Newport County boss Michael Flynn – if you’ve got any more like Priestley Farquharson then we’d love to give them a chance. The former Connah’s Quay Nomads defender has stepped seamlessly from the JD Cymru Premier league into League Two and has become an instant hit with both his new manager and his team mates. When Flynn lost loan star Bradley Cooper in the January window, he took a punt on bringing Farquharson, inset, up into the Football League and threw him in at the deep end. Now, instead of chasing another Welsh Non– League title he is chasing promotion to England’s third-tier. How life has changed for him over the course of two years. Having joined the Nomads from Hayes & Yeading United, in January 2019 he has won a league and cup double, been voted the best young player in the Welsh Premier and even got a taste of Euroepan football! He is a handful of games into his new life as a full time profesdays sional player in the EFL and certainly making waves. “He’s done a very good job for us in his five games to date, a couple of them out of position. The more he plays the better he will become in that position,” said a very happy Flynn. “He is learning how we want him to play in that role and he certainly has all the attributes. He’s still got a lot to learn, but he’s got a great attitude and you only have to tell him anything once, or a maximum of twice. “He takes things on board and he is football intelligent. I was aware of him for about 18 months, but I was looking at him properly for about a year. “Nomads manager Andy Morrison deserves a lot of credit for the job he has done with Priestley and for instilling in him the respect that is required at this level.”
Mentality
Farquharson’s move from north to south Wales came at a critical time because the Covid rules in Wales meant the Nomads had to stop playing. They are still awaiting a re-start date, which is likely to be next month. The 23-year-old signed a twoand-a-half year deal with County and has been able to use his previous experience as an England beach football international to good effect on the sand-laden Rodney Parade pitch in recent weeks. He is ambitious and reaping the rewards of his decision to take the plunge at Newport. “If players get a sniff of it through their agents, friends of an agent, next door neighbours, any way somebody wants to get a message to someone these they can do it. Once a player is aware of bigger interest, nine times out of 10 they do all they can to get there,” added Flynn. “I’ve got somebody I trust a lot who does some scouting for me, my agent helps me and I’ve got people who look around the Welsh League. My assistant Wayne Hatswell helps, Danny Elliot looks after the younger ages, so while it might be a bit ‘Ragged Rovers’ in some respects we do as much as we can. “We also have somebody who is doing a lot of work for us in the north free of charge. He puts some miles in for us and gives us match reports. We want to broaden the pool in which we fish. “It doesn’t always have to be upwards. There are some very good players in Non-League football. There is a reason why they are there – some haven’t had a break, some haven’t got the mentality to be a professional player, as we’ve seen with one or two others we tried here, but there are players with a lot of ability. “The only problem is that some of the Non-League clubs are paying more than we are. Some players are earning more in the league below than at 80 per cent of the clubs in League Two.”