Flynn sights on League One after penning deal
NEWPORT County boss Michael Flynn is delighted with his “improved and extended” new contract, which will keep him at Rodney Parade until June 2022.
The news was announced at Thursday night’s fans’ forum and comes just over a fortnight after the Exiles boss held talks with League One Lincoln City.
Flynn has been in charge of his hometown club since taking over from Graham Westley in March 2017 and will lead promotionhunting County in this afternoon’s clash with mid-table Carlisle at Rodney Parade (3pm).
His previous deal, which was signed last year, was due to expire in June 2020.
“I hope it’s positive news,” said Flynn. “It puts a lot of rumours to bed and now we can concentrate on what we want to do.
“You’re never going to stop rumours and if anybody links you do a club in a higher division, it is flattering. But I’ve got a very strong bond with this football club. I think everyone knows that this is a club close to my heart and, as much as it’s flattering, I don’t think it’s fair that the speculation goes on all the time and I want to make it clear that I do intend to finish the job that I want to do.
“It doesn’t always work out that way,” he added. “You can be that successful that you get a Championship move or, if it goes downhill, you end up parting ways with a club.
“It works both ways, but I think that the stability that we’ve had over the past few years can really drive us on and it’s nice to get it sorted.”
Flynn explained that his decision to sign the new deal is down to the support of the board of directors and his belief that County can win promotion at the end of this season – 12 months on from defeat in the League Two play-off final.
“We’ve had an increased budget this season and the board are trying to do what they can,” said the manager.
“There’s still lots of things we can do and improve on but they’re trying to do things the right way. I’d love to get Newport into League One.”
Padraig Amond could return to the starting line-up for the home game against Carlisle.
Defender Ryan Inniss will serve the final game of his five-match ban, while forward Corey Whitely is pushing for a recall after recovering from a recent knock.
■■MERTHYR Town entertain Wimborne today (3pm) in the Soouthern League Premier South looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat at Walton Casuals. THERE is a lovely balance in this Cardiff City midfield at the moment – and Lee Tomlin is crucial to that.
Is it a coincidence that he starts his first game since August and we beat QPR 3-0, our biggest win of the season?
He was a menace from the get-go, drawing fouls, beating players and he looked lively. He won the free-kick for the first goal and it was his quick thinking from the corner that led to the second.
He is a one-of-a-kind player in this squad and he’s playing well, when he gets his chance.
I know it must be frustrating for him, too, because he keeps getting brought off when teams are tiring and becoming easier to open up.
I would love to see him become a 90-minute player, not just being brought off after the hour as has become the norm this season.
I’m not saying to build the team around him, but Neil Warnock should make him the focal point of this Bluebirds attack.
He’s working incredibly hard, he’s stepped up that side of his game and that shows a great willingness to be part of the team and a desire to be the main man.
I’m not expecting him to do the same amount of work as Joe Ralls, for example, but he is still going to have to put in his fair share. He needs to put in the work and then produce the magic at the end of it. That would be the complete performance.
Against QPR he went some way to proving his worth. He was so important in helping City gain momentum, but, of course, he was not the only one.
I am a massive fan of Leandro Bacuna in that deep-lying midfield position, he’s played brilliantly in the last three or four games. And I’ve always rated Marlon Pack.
So combine that with the creativity of Tomlin and all of a sudden you strike up an incredibly good balance. It’s probably the best balance I’ve seen at Cardiff City in quite some time.
Last year in the Premier League, we lacked creativity, hence why we brought in Victor Camarasa. But Tomlin gives you that.
Pack offers more creativity, too, plus he’s solid, puts his foot in and is a good size. Then we’ve got Bacuna, who is the same in terms of how well he reads the game and could probably add three or four goals per season.
That was the main reason we won the game against QPR, that great little triangle in the middle of the field.
Look, let’s take nothing away from Ralls, who has been great for us so far this season, but that midfield three of Bacuna and Pack in behind Tomlin should be Cardiff’s first-choice midfield – whether they are home and away.
I hope he gets his chance again at West Brom, who look a seriously good side this season, and shows us once again the talent he has to offer. A result up there would be huge for this Cardiff City side.
I hope Tomlin just remains patient. We could see by his body language when he was taken off against QPR that he was frustrated.
I want him to stick with it because you can see he is building up his confidence the more he plays. He’s quietly earning the manager’s trust and he knows he has to do that.
But, fingers crossed, by the end of November he is in a position whereby he is starting home and away, maybe he has scored a few goals, and is brimming with confidence.