MANAGER Michael Flynn wants Newport County AFC to use the money from their remarkable FA Cup run to build a training ground and leave a legacy for future generations.
County bowed out of the cup at the fifth-round stage on Saturday night as Premier League champions Manchester City eased to a 4-1 win in front of nearly 10,000 fans at Rodney Parade.
The club have made more than £1.2m after reaching the last-16 for the first time in 70 years and Flynn urged the board of directors to put that windfall to good use.
“I want a training ground built; I want to leave a legacy – something to look back on,” said the Exiles boss.
“I don’t want the club wasting what’s been made and then 18 months down the line being skint and asking for money again – that can’t happen.
“I want a new training ground. Whether or not that’s possible, I don’t know.
“It’s not my decision how we spend the money, but I think we definitely need to do something to have an asset as a football club.”
Flynn’s men return to League Two action at bottom club Notts County tomorrow night but the manager wants to experience more big occasions like Saturday in the future.
“It’s back down to earth, but it’s nice that we’ve gone on a run,” he said.
“It’s the second year in a row now that we’ve had a great FA Cup experience and we want to be involved in more.
“As a manager, I’m ambitious and I want more times like that against the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Claude Puel and Tony Pulis.
“This is why I want to be a manager – to test myself against the best in the world. And Pep is certainly that.
“I’ve worked in the academy and since I took over, we’ve had a relegation battle, flirting with the play-offs, and cup runs. It’s only a promotion I need now to complete the whole lot!”
The Exiles are now 15th in the table and Flynn is angry that his side have to play again so soon after battling City’s superstars.
“It’s going to be difficult because of the amount of running we’ve done on that football pitch,” he said.
“I can’t believe we’ve got a game on Tuesday.
“You almost get punished for doing well in the FA Cup and it needs looking at because small clubs like us with small squads it really adds to the strain.
“It’s crazy, but it is what it is. We’ve got to get on with it and there can be no excuses.
“You just hope that they carry on doing the right things and we get a result,” added Flynn.
“There are some players playing for contracts, others playing for moves. They’ve all got a reason to play well to the end of the season.”
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