Flynn wary of being sunk by Mariners

ALL the odds may be stacked against Grimsby Town for their trip to Rodney Parade for their first round FA Cup replay, but Newport County boss Michael Flynn is taking nothing for granted as his giant-killers of the last two seasons attempt another epic cup run.

It took an 80th minute penalty from Padraig Amond to get County back on level terms at Blundell Park 11 days ago and force the replay. A lot has happened since then and the Mariners will be travelling under new management after the recent departure of Michael Jolley.

Anthony Limbrick has stepped into the breach as interim manager and his first task is to try to post a first win since 28 September eight games ago.

Given his side faces a near five hour journey to get to Rodney Parade it is going to be a tough debut night for him.

But while Flynn has sympathy for Jolley after seeing him lose his job, he knows that Grimsby will be a wounded animal and could be unpredictable as a result.

“Their manager has gone, a couple of them will feel they’ve got a fresh start and that could be a bad thing for us,” said Flynn.

“No two games are the same. We learned from the first game that if we switch off we will concede.

“When we become more clinical with our finishing we will go on a run, and a good run.

“We’ve been successful in the cup for a team of our stature over the last two years and I want to do it again.

“But we know that what we have done to teams can easily happen to us if we are not on it. I will make sure we are on it.”

The prize for the winners tonight will be a trip to Maldon & Tiptree FC, who play in the Isthmian League North. They are unbeaten this season with 21 wins and two draws to date and went to League Two side Leyton Orient in the 1st Round of the FA Cup and won 2-1.

Nobody at Newport will be contemplating that potential banana skin just yet. They have to get past Grimsby first and then try to work their way towards another moneyspinning third round tie.

“There is an even bigger feeling about the FA Cup with the players because once you get a taste of it you want more. We want to be successful,” said Flynn.

“You only have to look at the Man United teams of the Nineties and early 2000s. There weren’t happy winning one championship, they wanted another one.

“And when they had two, they wanted three, and when it was three they wanted four. That’s why they were so successful.”