STRIKER Jamille Matt admits he’d rather be playing in League Two this weekend than the FA Cup.
Newport County AFC head to Millwall for Saturday’s third-round tie at The Den (kick-off 12.31pm) but Matt would prefer to have another crack at ending the club’s 10-game winless run in the league.
County were denied victory by a late Cheltenham Town equaliser at Rodney Parade on New Year’s Day and Matt is desperate to earn three points as soon as possible.
“Personally, the league is our bread and butter, so I’d prefer to have another league game coming up,” he told iFollowExiles.
“The FA Cup is something that is on the schedule and something that we’ve done well in in the past.
“We try and do well in every game, so our attentions turn to that now. It won’t be easy because Millwall are doing very well [in the Championship].
“But if we can get a victory, that would breed confidence for us to carry on and hopefully it would snowball from there into a win in the league.
“We’ve shown that on our day we can mix it with the best teams. It’ll be the same on Saturday, we’ll go there looking to put a marker down and show how good we are.”
And Matt is looking forward to entering the Lions' Den.
“I’ve never experienced it before,” he added. “You obviously hear things like it’s a tough place to go and it’ll be a challenge.
“At the end of the day, they’re a Championship club and they’ll be a good team. Gary Rowett has always done well as a manager at different clubs, so they’ll be well prepared and I’m sure they’ll know a lot about us.
“We’ve got to go there and play with no fear, and try to get a good result.”
A repeat of the 1-1 draw the Exiles managed at Middlesbrough, who were then Championship play-off hopefuls, in January last year would suit Matt fine.
“We’ve obviously had some good times in this competition – away at Middlesbrough, for example.
“That trip was probably my favourite memory from last season so if they (the County fans) can come along again and support us then hopefully we’ll give them something to shout about.”
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