CITY MUST BE UP FOR A SCRAP ON THIS PITCH

THERE is no doubt that the muddy Rodney Parade pitch will be a leveller. On the pristine Premier League surfaces Manchester City are used to, you don’t have to work to control the ball. On Newport’s pitch, City will have less time to be creative. Get the basics wrong and you can be punished. This tie reminds me of Arsenal’s FA Cup replay at Port Vale on our way to winning the Double in 1998. The pitch was like running through treacle and straight away I knew we would have to dig in and fight. In the end, we scraped through on penalties. City may be overwhelming favourites today but they’ll have to be up for a scrap.