BRIGHTON v COUNTY (Tonight, KO 7.45)
NEWPORT County AFC boss Justin Edinburgh will urge his side to remember their humiliating FA Cup exit last term ahead of tonight’s Capital One Cup clash with Brighton.
The Exiles will compete in the League Cup for the very first time since they reformed tonight against the side who reached the semi-final of the Championship play-offs last term under previous manager Gus Poyet.
However, following New-port’s thumping 4-1 triumph over Accrington on Saturday, Edinburgh insists his side are ready to travel to the South coast in good heart.
The Exiles are huge outsiders for the clash, as big as 7 or even 8-1 with some bookmakers.
That isn’t an issue for Edinburgh though and he is instead hoping to use Newport’s cup experiences to their advantage.
The Exiles were stunned last term by lowly Yate, the visitors triumphing at Rodney Parade in a replay despite being huge underdogs.
Edinburgh feels there is a clear lesson to be learned and is expecting his players to keep it in their minds.
“As far as I am concerned, this is a total freebie of a game, no pressure, no-one expecting us to get a result, just a chance to go to a big club and look to express ourselves and play well,” he said.
“We are massive underdogs, that goes without saying and my message to the players will be simple.
“There are always cup upsets, always teams who perform above themselves and we want to make sure that’s us this round.
“No one expected Yate to win at our place last season but look what happened.
“They played without any pressure and they were worthy winners in the end.
“There is nothing to suggest we can’t do a similar thing tonight at Brighton.
“I will simply ask the players if they want to be the ones everyone is talking about tomorrow?
“We have a great opportunity here to really show how far we’ve progressed.
“It’ll be exceptionally tough, because Brighton are an established Champion-ship side, but we relish the challenge.
“As long as my players give it their all that’s enough, but it’ll make it hard for Brighton because their fans will be expecting them to win comfortably.”
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