Saturday 27 January 2018 21:13, UK
Newport boss Mike Flynn says he was "absolutely gutted" by Harry Kane's late equaliser for Tottenham in their FA Cup draw at Rodney Parade.
The Exiles had taken a shock lead seven minutes before half-time when Padraig Amond headed Scot Bennett's cross past Michel Vorm, but the in-form England striker tapped home an 82nd-minute equaliser to force a replay at Wembley.
The result marked Flynn's 50th game in charge of the League Two club and he beamed with pride when discussing his side's efforts in holding their Premier League counterparts to an unprecedented draw in south Wales.
"They are a fantastic group and I don't just say it for the sake of saying it, they give me their all day-in day-out," he said in his post-match press conference.
"I'm absolutely gutted for them because they scored so late. It was always going to hard in the second half but they've made me the proudest manager in the country today.
"I could've maybe been a bit selfish and tried to be the hero and put a few more strikers on and gone for it, but I would never jeopardise the finances of the football club and I'm not selfish."
He added: "We kept it as we were, we just had to get them back focus again and let's be honest, it was the only mistake we made all day and we got punished."
Flynn estimated the club's cup run and the return fixture at the national stadium could earn Newport a figure "in excess of" £700,000 if televised, and he said the importance of the cash injection could not be understated.
"It's huge. It can save clubs and it's not just to keep you ticking over. I'm hoping it's on TV again because that'd be an extra bit of money and you won't believe how much it's needed.That's not the sob story, it is what it is in League Two and a lot of League One clubs.
"It feels good to be in a nice position to be able to provide for the football club."
And despite holding Mauricio Pochettino's men at home, Flynn joked that he was not looking forward to the midweek trip to London.
"It depends what it is like. If it's anything like the second half, I'm not relishing it at all! But I've got every bit of confidence in my players and they deserve this. They've been magnificent from day one and I think you've seen that we've got a lot of good players as well.
"I'm gutted that we didn't win, but they deserved this".
