CHRISTMAS is cancelled at Newport County AFC and Wrexham with tonight’s FA Cup second-round replay ruining both club’s pre-planned festive celebrations.

Players from both clubs were due to be partying in Dublin over the weekend but the 0-0 draw at the Racecourse Ground on December 1 put paid to those plans.

Exiles boss Michael Flynn says his players will have to wait until next summer to celebrate but they are not out of pocket thanks to the forward-thinking of centre-back Mickey Demetriou, who insisted on cancellation insurance.

“At least our lot had the foresight to insure against it,” said Flynn. “I don’t think the Wrexham players did.

“Mickey was in charge and he’s pretty tight! He’s quite switched on with things like that and we weren’t taking anything for granted.

“We didn’t assume we’d turn Wrexham over and have a free week after Swindon. Fair play to them, they used their brains for once.

“They can have it in May now,” he added.

“Christmas is neither here nor there – I’m focused on beating Wrexham and then MK Dons and then Lincoln.

“Call me Scrooge if you want but Christmas will definitely be cancelled if we don’t beat Wrexham.”

Captain Andrew Crofts also paid tribute to Demetriou’s planning skills but he insists that the players are 100 per cent focused on finishing the job against Wrexham and sealing a third-round tie against Premier League Leicester City.

“Mickey’s done well there,” said the skipper. “It’s a disappointment that we didn’t win the game so we could go away but we’re not bothered about that now. That’s gone.

“We haven’t really spoken about it. Christmas dos are all good but playing football is our bread and butter. That’s what we’re paid to do and we can’t wait to do that.

“Come the end of the season we’ll hopefully be celebrating something bigger.”

South Wales Argus:

Crofts (above) is doubtful for tomorrow night’s game due to a hamstring strain, which forced him off during the first half of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Swindon Town.

“I felt a little tweak in my hammy late on [in the first half] and it was maybe an accumulation of playing a few games after being out for a while,” said the 34-year-old Wales international.

“It’s nothing bad. I’m touch and go [for Wrexham] but hopefully it won’t be too bad and I’ll be back out there as soon as possible.

“The FA Cup is so special. It’s something you always look forward to as a player. It’s an unbelievable game for the boys to be involved in.

“These are the games you want to play in and if I don’t play I’ll be devastated but I’ve got to think about maybe missing one and playing more [going forward].”

Even if he's not involved, Crofts, who played 16 games on loan for Wrexham in 2009, believes County will have the edge at home.

“It was a wicked atmosphere [at Wrexham] and I know the atmosphere at Rodney Parade is going to be even better,” he said.

“We need to get on the front foot and take the game to them. We’ve got to make sure we’re right at it.

“We can’t take anything for granted. We know they’re a good side but we know that we’re more than capable of winning the game.

“Leicester would be massive,” he added. “After what the club did last year against Tottenham they are used to these occasions and hopefully we can use those experiences to our advantage.”