NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn wants his players to turn a good season into an “unbelievable” one by capitalising on the FA Cup feelgood factor to make a late charge for the League Two play-offs.
Flynn’s men are 15th in the table ahead of tomorrow’s trip to fourth-placed MK Dons, but Tuesday’s 4-1 win at Notts County means they are just six points off the top seven with a game in hand.
And the manager is convinced that the club’s run to the FA Cup fifth round, which ended with defeat to Premier League champions Manchester City last weekend, can help them climb the table.
“I can’t remember as good a time at Newport in the league,” said Flynn.
“The Manchester City game has created a buzz around the city and there are a lot of different types of people coming up and speaking to me now and congratulating me. That’s a very pleasing thing.
“It will feel 10 times better if we manage to finish on a high and get close to the play-offs, because then it’s an unbelievable season instead of just a good one.
“Of course it’s still possible, we’re six points behind with a game in hand. But I’m not going to put any pressure on the players.”
Flynn feels that his side has learned from their experiences after a similar run to the fourth round of the cup last year, when they struggled to rouse themselves after bowing out to Tottenham Hotspur.
“Last season after the Spurs game we didn’t score a goal in February so we’ve already bettered that,” said the County boss.
“It tells me that the mentality of the players is right, that the physical condition is right, and we just need to keep going and grinding out results until the end of the season.”
Paul Tisdale’s MK Dons won 1-0 at Rodney Parade last week and Flynn knows they will provide another stern test.
“They’re a very good team,” he said. “We outplayed them not so long ago and they beat us, so that goes to show how mentally tough they are.
“They keep going to the end and then they went and backed it up at Carlisle.
“They’ve had a good week and they’re right in the automatic promotion picture.
“They’ll be full of confidence and looking to do the double over us.
“We’ll be trying to avenge what we felt was a tough one to take and I don’t care if I’m the one on Saturday telling Paul Tisdale ‘you battered us today, I don’t know how we got the three points’ – I’ll be fine with that.
“We’re going to have to be resolute and have 100 per cent concentration for the entire match, like we were the other night.
“We’re not always going to score four and I’d take a 1-0 win now.”
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