NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn admits the club would be in a very worrying financial position right now if it wasn’t for the money made from their recent cup successes.

County reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2018, beating Leeds United and taking Tottenham Hotspur to a replay at Wembley.

And last season they went one better, reaching the fifth round after beating Leicester City and Middlesbrough and only bowing out to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Rodney Parade.

Flynn’s men also made it to round three of the FA Cup this season and they also earned a lucrative TV tie against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup.

That success has earned the Exiles around £2m in prize money, broadcast fees and increased ticket and commercial revenue.

And that means they are in a much better financial position than many of their rivals in League Two, who have been hit hard by the loss of income while fixtures are suspended during the coronavirus pandemic.

“If we didn’t have those cup runs, we would be really backs-against-the-wall now,” Flynn told BBC Radio Wales Sport. “It would be panic stations all over.

“We’re probably one of the fortunate League Two clubs, but there’s many clubs out there who are going to really struggle.”

South Wales Argus:

The EFL announced a £50m short-term relief fund for struggling clubs last week but Flynn says more needs to be done.

“We don’t want another Bury,” said the Exiles boss. “I know this is different circumstances, but if it leads to clubs losing their existence…

“It can’t happen. There’s got to be a lot of things put in place to make sure that doesn’t occur.

“What they are, I don’t know.

“But if teams are at home, for example, maybe they should get [compensated for] their average gate just to cover us until we start to play again, if we start playing again.”

EFL chairman Rick Parry says many clubs will have to re-evaluate how they run their business after the current crisis is over.

"I'm not a fan of the begging-bowl culture," Parry told BBC Radio 5 live.

"[Rather than] just looking for handouts, it's better to go with a self-help mentality, saying 'this is what we've done, this is the problem that we find ourselves in, so how can we all help to produce a better future?'

"I think it's much better, in dialogue with the Premier League, to talk about sustainable futures and how we might be able to have a reset going forward."

Parry urged a more sustainable solution for the EFL's 71 member clubs, highlighting the widespread financial losses that have been incurred prior to the pandemic starting.

"We've already been looking at measures to control costs," Parry continued.

"We need to have better cost-control measures. I'm sure we will because, if this doesn't focus minds, frankly, what will?"

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