NEWPORT County AFC manager Michael Flynn says it wasn’t out of choice that he rang the changes for the Carabao Cup clash with Ipswich Town.

The Exiles are into the second round of the competition after stunning the Tractor Boys at Portman Road thanks to Timmy Abraham’s early goal.

They hit the front and then clung onto the lead despite the League One side racking up 25 shots and missing a number of golden chances.

READ MORE: Full match report from Portman Road

County started the season with victory at Oldham Athletic in League Two but made 11 changes for the long trip to Suffolk.

However, it wasn’t a case of Flynn wanting to fall at the first hurdle in the competition, the boss didn’t want to risk players after their exertions at Boundary Park.

“People will probably say that I was disrespecting the competition but we had eight struggling from Oldham on Saturday. Ok, six would have probably been okay but I can’t afford for them to get injured,” said the manager, whose side take on Mansfield on Saturday.

“I also needed to have a look at how other players could cope and what they could offer us in a competitive fixture at a big stadium against a good team.

“A few are struggling and it would have been a big risk to start them and I am not into doing that.”

The travelling squad have Wednesday off while those that didn’t make the trip to Ipswich are in for training.

Exiles captain Matty Dolan has had a scan on his calf/Achilles injury and the club are waiting for the results while fellow defender Priestley Farquharson is also a doubt for Saturday’s trip to Mansfield after suffering a leg blow last weekend.

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Flynn was given food for thought ahead of the trip to Field Mill after the midweek starters produced the goods in Ipswich.

“It was an absolutely outstanding win. I’m very, very proud of that group of players,” said Flynn. “We had a lot of young boys out there and they haven’t really played together as a team.

“They dug in, we rode our luck at times, let’s be honest, but I am over the moon because that is a massive confidence boost for the boys.

“You sometimes have to give them an opportunity to show what they can do and every single one of them did themselves proud and impressed.”

County have previously stunned Leicester, Leeds and Middlesbrough in the FA Cup while in last season’s Carabao Cup they knocked out Watford and Swansea of the Championship.

Ipswich may be in League One but was still a notable scalp for Flynn.

“It’s up there because of the unknown of our team," he said. "Yes, I know the players – I haven’t just signed them blind and a lot of thought went into it.

“But when they played together for the first time at a big stadium against a good team, they were outstanding.

“Nobody fancied us coming all the way down here against one of the biggest teams in League One. The players did me and themselves proud.

“We rode our luck at times but we also created a lot of good opportunities. We are work in progress, we have had to rebuild again and hopefully we will keep improving.”

County travel to Mansfield on Saturday and then have a Tuesday off because their home fixture with Northampton has been postponed due to Rodney Parade pitch work.

They head to Tranmere and Salford in a testing August with the round two clash - they will learn the opponents tonight - between those tricky fixtures.