Matty Dolan can’t wait to go back to his roots in the FA Cup this weekend – and show Middlesbrough fans the player they missed out on.
The Newport County midfielder grew up at The Riverside, climbing through the ranks from the age of seven to 21.
He made the bench for a few pre-season friendlies, including one against Atletico Madrid, but never got the chance to play for the first-team.
On Saturday, hamstring permitting, he intends to prove a point and help write another chapter in County’s FA Cup fairy tale.
Dolan has already helped the League Two club knockout recent Premier League champions Leicester City and there will be a £180,000 cash bonanza riding on the result for the winners.
“Middlesbrough will always be a special club for me. I’m going back home, but I’ll be doing everything I can to be out on the pitch on Saturday to prove a point,” said Dolan.
“I spent a lot of time there from the age of seven to about 21 and I’ve no regrets. It’s the club which invested a lot in me and I’ll always be thankful for that.
“A lot of young footballers these days find themselves stuck not playing at a club and then they find themselves at the bottom of the game without much experience.
“It was my decision to go out and I don’t think I’d be a footballer today if I hadn’t done that.
“Ultimately, I made the right decision to leave. Football is a game of luck and, if you’re in the right place at the right time, then sometimes it works for you.
“It will be the first time I’ve been back and it feels like it’s been forever since I was last there. I have fond memories of the place, but I’ll be looking to get one over on them.
“I made the bench a couple of times for pre-season games. We had some good ones – Atletico Madrid comes to mind – and of course there is an extra bit of spice for me given I didn’t break through.
“We had to pinch ourselves against Leicester when we were marking £25 million players. It was the same last year with Tottenham, and guys like Harry Kane, but we’ve got a squad of talented guys and we believe in ourselves.
“We’ll show them respect, but not too much, and try to cause another upset. We’ve created history for the club in the past and now we want to create some more.”
As well as Dolan, Newport manager Mike Flynn’s consultant, Lennie Lawrence, will also be returning to one of his former clubs.
The 71-year-old Lawrence took over as manager of the club in 1991 and steered them into, and then out of, the Premier League.
Dolan’s father, Gary, is a staunch Newcastle United fan and will be leading the support for his son from the Newport end of The Riverside, albeit from a wheelchair.
“I was sat at home watching the draw with the family and then the phone went crazy. I told everyone to sort out their own tickets because otherwise I’d have been miles out of pocket,” added Dolan.
“All my family are going, but they’ll be in the Newport end. My dad has only gone and fallen over, so I think he’s going to be there in his wheelchair being pushed by my mother.
“My old man is a Newcastle fan, so he’ll definitely be cheering me on. If we win, and I score, then we’ll both be happy, but he’s a bit stuck for jumping up if I do score.”
Last season saw Flynn’s side dump Middlesbrough’s Championship promotion rivals Leeds United out at the third round stage before they took mighty Spurs to a replay at Wembley.
With the win over Leicester in the last round the Welsh side have bagged around £1m from their cup exploits over two seasons.
There will be that £180,000 carrot dangling in front of both teams today, but there will be more than mere money on the line for the two Welsh mangers.
Flynn and Middlesbrough’s Tony Pulis were born a few streets apart in the dockland area of Newport, Pill, and went to the same school, St Joseph’s.
“The manager is just bonkers 24/7 and his enthusiasm transfers to all of us. He’s honest and doesn’t feed us a load of rubbish,” said Dolan of Flynn.
“We won’t put any pressure on ourselves, it’s a free hit. We need to frustrate them as much as we can to try and get into the next round.
“But it is the league that matters most. The last two years have been a progression for us, but we know where we want to be and that’s not in this league.”