Michael Flynn: Newport manager's rise from would-be estate agent to club legend

Heard the one about the ex-player who was going to be an estate agent before taking over his hometown club against his wife's wishes and leading them to unthinkable highs?

Newport County manager Michael Flynn's Newport County CV is exceptionally wide-ranging.

He was a player, in two different spells, culminating in being promoted before being released.

The 38-year-old returned as youth academy manager, but was sacked. He then became a coach, an assistant manager and then caretaker boss.

With the club heading for non-league football in 2017 Flynn pulled off the greatest of Great Escapes at the club he loves.

Now he's the manager as Newport power from strength to strength, having thrilled the nation with their FA Cup exploits and having sneaked into the League Two play-offs at the last moment of a long season, with the Exiles just 90 minutes away from League One.

It is quite a transformation for a man who in 2015 joined Welsh League side Undy Athletic as a joint player-coach as he planned to split his time between that and working in an estate agents.

Flynn spent his playing career in English football's lower tiers after initially tasting success in Europe for Barry Town against Jose Mourinho's Porto., external

He played over 300 games for the likes of Wigan, Gillingham and Bradford City, but the boy born and raised in the city of Newport could not resist the call of home.

With Newport targeting promotion from the National League, Flynn signed on for County's first season at Rodney Parade and his faith in boss Justin Edinburgh was merited.

County returned to the Football League that term with a play-off win at Wembley against Wrexham and Flynn's "greatest moment as a player," was secured.

Newport County actually dismissed their current boss from two different jobs in the space of a few weeks when they were under the stewardship of former England captain Terry Butcher.

Butcher released Flynn as a player in 2015, with Flynn by then also serving as academy manager and having helped to bring the likes of Aaron Collins and Regan Poole into the senior squad.

Not only did Butcher cut Flynn from his squad, he also ultimately dismissed him from his academy position, prompting the switch to Undy and a potential a new career as an estate agent or a publican.

It was a brief hiatus.

Newport County in 2015-16 were a club in the process of being taken over at board level by their supporters and Flynn, as a figurehead, played a key role in the transition.

However, on the field the Exiles were struggling and with Butcher sacked, Flynn was back at the club just four months after being released when then-manager John Sheridan appointed him as a coach.

Sheridan was replaced by Warren Feeney who again transitioned Flynn away from the first team scene, but when Feeney was sacked with County in relegation trouble, Graham Westley gave Flynn a senior coaching role, before he too was dismissed with Newport 11 points adrift at the bottom of League Two with 12 games remaining.

Flynn was then offered the manager's job on a caretaker basis. The equivalent of being handed the steering wheel of the Titanic just before it smashed into the iceberg.

Flynn hoped to restore some pride at Rodney Parade, but led County to the ultimate in Great Escapes, even though his wife thought he was "mad for taking the job."

"We had to live around the city," Flynn recalls. "She really thought it was potentially a mistake to take the job, but I wanted to restore some pride.

He did a lot more than that.

Two wins, the first secured in the 89th minute and the belief crept in as Newport kept on winning and rivals Hartlepool kept on losing. On the final day Newport knew a win would be enough to keep them up and in injury time against Notts County, Mark O'Brien's volley clinched a 2-1 win and Flynn's place in club folklore.

A graduate of the Football Association of Wales' pro licence course, Flynn has become firm friends with one of his peers in the classroom, the legendary Thierry Henry.

"Michael Flynn is the big man," Henry told BBC Wales Sport. "He made the impossible, possible.

"I didn't think it could be done, even though I wished Mike luck I thought 'that is going to be a difficult one'," Henry explained.

"The situation they were in and yet he made it happen. I don't care what division you are in, it is a remarkable, remarkable achievement.

"He did it his way, he is close to the club and good people deserve what they get.

"The guys responded to him as well, it is amazing, 11 points adrift, 12 games to go, amazing.

"He couldn't sign any players and that is why it is magical, he had to make his guys go on a mission.

"A good general needs soldiers. His challenge was to stay up and he did, which is still unbelievable for me. Now the club need to build from that."

Foundations in place, the building progressed.

An FA Cup run last term to the fourth round proved financially transformative, with County beating Walsall and Leeds on route to holding Tottenham Hotspur. The tie created another high profile Flynn fan in Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

"I have learned the FA Cup is magical," said Pochettino after Spurs beat Newport in a replay.

"I wish Newport all the best. I hope they win games and fight to be in the play-off to go to League One.

"Our relationship was fantastic at the game in Newport and now we will share a glass of wine with Michael and his staff and to share our experiences. It is always good to meet people and learn from each other."

The Exiles' form petered out last term, but Flynn learned from those mistakes this season when Newport were again FA Cup giant killers, knocking out Leicester City and Middlesbrough before facing Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

Key signings around the same time ensured Newport's league form didn't suffer as the Exiles finished the campaign with 10 games unbeaten to clinch a play-off spot with an 87th minute goal on the final day.

Where they go next is anyone's guess ahead of the play-off final against Tranmere, but Flynn's status as a legend is the one thing with Newport County you definitely can count on.