Newport County boss relishing prospect of facing ‘biggest club in this country’ Manchester United in FA Cup

Newport County booked their spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday evening, securing a tie against Manchester United in the next stage of the competition.

The Exiles overturned National League outfit Eastleigh 3-1 at Silverlake Stadium in a replay of the sides’ third-round tie.

Now, United face another away tie after their 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic last week at the DW Stadium when they make the trip to Wales in the last week of January. The fixture will be their first after a two-week-long winter break and you’d expect that Erik ten Hag would grant some fringe players a chance to prove their abilities, given that the opposition ranks three divisions lower in League Two.

Newport boss reacts to United tie

Reacting to the victory post-match, manager Graham Coughlan was relishing the chance to come head-to-head with the 20-time champions on their home turf. He said (as cited by BBC Sport): “It’s a fourth-round tie against Manchester United, for me in the biggest club in this country, in Europe and in the world.”