NEWPORT County AFC will be ready for everything that Metropolitan Police FC can throw at them today thanks to a spy in the camp and the expert analysis of manager Michael Flynn’s backroom staff.

County are well aware of the potential for a big FA Cup shock in the first-round tie and they are determined to avoid making the headlines.

Striker Padraig Amond has tapped his sources for information on the Met and the Exiles analysts have prepared a full dossier on the Southern League Premier Division South side.

Amond has quizzed Merthyr Town manager Gavin Williams, whose side drew 2-2 with the Blues in September, about what to expect.

“I didn’t watch the draw,” said the 30-year-old front man. “I was coaching the under-16s at the time.

“One of the lads’ dads is the manager of Merthyr, who are in the same division, and he gave me a bit of information.

“The first thing you think is that it’s a winnable tie. We go in as favourites and it’s a great opportunity to get into the second round.

“We have to give them the respect they deserve but go into the game in a positive frame of mind.

“If we do what we’re capable of doing there aren’t many teams in League Two who can live with us.

“We’ll prepare as if it was a League Two game to give us the best chance possible to make sure we’re in the hat for the next round.”

And, as for every match, that involves studying footage of the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses.

“It’s difficult but it’s probably a lot easier than it was 10 years ago or 15 years ago,” explained Amond.

“A few of the lads know some of their players and we’ve got good analysts who are doing all the work they can.

“They’ll be a decent side. We’ve watched clips to get as much information as we can and make sure there’s no upset.”

Amond was dumped out of the cup at the same stage four years ago when his Morecambe side was beaten 1-0 at Dover Athletic and he’s determined to avoid the same fate today.

“You don’t want to be sat at home on Saturday evening not wanting to watch Match of the Day,” he said.

“I was involved in a shock a few years ago at Morecambe when Dover beat us and we probably went into the game expecting to turn them over.

“The FA Cup always throws up big shocks. Last year we were the underdogs in every game in the FA Cup but we believed we could win every game and we caused quite a few upsets.

“So we know that if we’re not on it this weekend it’s going to be a really tough game to play in. They’re one of the lowest-ranked teams left in the draw but they’ll be expecting to win the game.

“It’s up to us to make sure that come 5pm nobody is talking about the shock of the round being Newport knocked out.”