NEWPORT PLANNING MUDBATH FOR PEP

NEWPORT COUNTY goal hero Padraig Amond believes Manchester City could come unstuck in the mud when they arrive for their fifth-round showdown on Saturday week. Rodney Parade hosted its 59th game of the season on Tuesday — owing to its use by two rugby teams — and Middlesbrough struggled on the boggy pitch. Amond, who scored Newport’s second goal in the 2-0 won over Boro, believes the pitch and modest facilities are their best equaliser against Pep Guardiola’s superstars. He said: ‘The pitch is going to be tough for them. We have to hope it is an advantage, because it is a different kind of challenge, even for the very best players in the world. ‘City are a different proposition but there are three football matches on this pitch beforehand. I don’t know if there is a rugby game but I think we should try to get a couple on there. ‘There would have been very few City players, if any, who would have played at a ground like this. If the game was at the Etihad, then it would have been a different story.’ On the changing rooms, Amond added: ‘There is a small corridor between them and you can hear the away dressing room sometimes. When we played Leicester in the previous round, we walked into our dressing room and the gaffer usually gives us a few minutes to settle, but then we heard Claude Puel having a right go at his players. That gives you massive confidence that we had them on the ropes. ‘We had them rattled and that is what you need to do.’