MICHAEL Flynn hailed the travelling Newport County AFC contingent for voluntarily doing something he didn’t want to – make the long midweek trek to Ipswich.

The Exiles will rack up the miles in August with away games at Oldham, Mansfield, Tranmere and Salford in League Two because of Rodney Parade pitch work.

They were also drawn away to Ipswich in round one of the Carabao Cup but upset the odds with a 1-0 win against the League One club at Portman Road.

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County will learn their opponents for the second round after tonight’s game between Leyton Orient and Queens Park Rangers (kick-off 7.45pm).

The draw will be regionalised on a north/south basis and manager Flynn said that they WILL be able to host the tie on August 23.

That will be a relief to the 131-strong contingent that made the five-hour journey east to Suffolk on Tuesday to cheer on their team just days after 317 had endured M6 chaos going to Oldham.

“We’ve had two away games and had two 1-0 wins, it’s brilliant and our fans were outstanding,” said Flynn.

“They travelled all the way here when I’ll be straight, I didn’t even want to come! It’s that far! Fair play to the supporters for paying their hard-earned money and coming.”

The Premier League teams that are not involved in European competitions enter the competition in round two.