‘Give me Liverpool in next round and a new bag of balls!’
NEWPORT manager Michael Flynn spelled out his wishlist after masterminding a stunning victory over Leicester — a tie at Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round and a new bag of balls. The fan-owned club nearly went out of business for a second time in 2015 when their owner Les Scadding walked out. But cash-strapped County survived and last night pulled off the biggest result in their history by overhauling a 74-place deficit against Leicester. That took the prize for the cup run to £285,000, taking in television money, and Flynn is hoping for a trip to Anfield in the next round to secure a jackpot. He said: ‘It is the first time I have beaten a Premier League club and it was a real honour as all my friends, my wife and my family were here. ‘Now I want Liverpool at home or away. I am a Liverpool fan and would love to play them anyway, but you would have to say the best thing for the club is a big club away. We want to make as much money as we can out of it.’ The club’s financial difficulties were highlighted last year when their run to the fourth round was celebrated as a means of buying a new laundry room after the old one burnt down in a tumble-drier fire. That is yet to be built and Flynn added: ‘We can’t afford champagne. That room still hasn’t been built but the chairman (Gavin Foxall) has been brilliant. We make a good team. He does it for free and I don’t think his wife is too happy. But he loves the club — I might get a new bag of balls.’ Meanwhile, Leicester manager Claude Puel defended his decision to make seven changes to the side that last faced Everton in the league. His decision to field a weakened team followed a controversial call to rest key players in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester City. He said: ‘We had a good team with eight players who won the title with Leicester, and a lot of experienced players and quality on the pitch. ‘We cannot make an excuse. We had enough quality on the pitch to qualify and I don’t want to look for excuses about this. ‘We lost together, we are all together disappointed and frustrated after this game because this competition was important.’