BRIGHTON v COUNTY (Tonight, KO 7.45)

 

NEWPORT County AFC must go for the jugular if they are to survive their first foray into the Capital One Cup, according to former England international Dion Dublin.

<p>After ending their 25-year Football League exile by defeating Wrexham in the Conference play-offs in May, County will take part in the League Cup for the first time since 1987, when they were dished out a 6-0 hiding by Crystal Palace.

<p>Justin Edinburgh’s men, who beat Accrington Stanley 4-1 in their League Two opener on Saturday, travel to Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion today looking to take advantage of the Seagulls’ chaotic summer.

<p>The optimism coursing through Rodney Parade is in stark contrast to Brighton where the proverbial hit the fan – via the Palace dressing room – at the end of last season with manager Gus Poyet suspended amid a club inquiry and later sacked while he was appearing on BBC TV in June.

<p>Poyet’s assistant Mauricio Taricco was also dismissed with Oscar Garcia appointed as the new boss at the Amex Stadium last month.

<p>Back in the Football League, County’s priority will be to stay there but Dublin believes Edinburgh’s side can spring the surprise of Round One if they throw caution to the wind.

<p>“Newport have nothing to lose and nothing to hide and they can just go to the Amex and give it a go and see how they get on but Brighton do pass the ball really well,” said Dublin.

<p>“Brighton are very confident on the ball and all their players are footballers and tend to move around the pitch and rarely stay in position so I think Newport might find that movement difficult to deal with.

<p>“Brighton are structured without being regimented.

<p>“If somebody goes forward they are covered by someone so that constant switching of personnel and positions could confuse Newport and mess with their system a bit.

<p>“But the disarray off the field is not a great start to the season and that can cause a domino effect.”

<p>And while Dublin believes that County should chance their arm in the Capital One Cup but keep survival in League Two as their bread and butter, he believes the early rounds of the competition can have a galvanising effect.

<p>He added: “It does help sometimes going on a run in the cup.

<p>“Some teams do try and focus on one or the other but if you can balance the two and have a big enough squad to keep both situations strong then you have a chance.

<p>“Some of the smaller squads really gave it a go and just come up short and maybe because of injuries it didn’t quite work for them, but if you time it right, it can happen.

<p>“This offers a great opportunity for managers to see how badly the players want to play for the club.

<p>“It keeps your season alive, it sounds stupid so early on, but if you do just keep your toe in the water you can nick results in this competition.

<p>“It keeps the players’ shoulders pinned back and the fans alive, more revenue comes in for the clubs and there is more interest in the football clubs.”

<p>- Dion Dublin was speaking on behalf of credit card company Capital One, sponsor of the League Cup.