Newport manager Graham Coughlan admits Erik ten Hag is in the FA Cup firing line and warned Manchester United to expect a “unique and hostile” atmosphere at Rodney Parade.

United meet League Two County for the first time in their history in Sunday’s fourth-round tie, with 74 places between them in the football pyramid and millions of pounds on their respective balance sheets.

Yet Rodney Parade’s tight confines and a crowd of just under 10,000 will welcome United with Ten Hag, during a dismal season at Old Trafford, under pressure to progress in the only competition the Red Devils have a chance left of winning.

“It’s part of the job. He knows what he signed up for. We all do,” CoughIan said of the scrutiny the Dutchman will face in South Wales just weeks after Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in United.

“When you put yourself in the firing line, there are going to be bullets flying and coming your way.

“You’ve got to know how to handle that.”

Addressing the pressure and strains of management, Dubliner Coughlan – a self-confessed United fan who has previously been at Bristol Rovers and Mansfield – “I’ve been in his shoes. I’ve been there and got the T-shirt.

“He’ll come through it. He’ll be experienced enough to come through it. He has good people around him and that will be the key.

“You do go through tough times and difficult periods, but hopefully they get to grips with it by getting a bit of leadership into the football club.”

Newport – who on Wednesday saw former Swansea chairman and owner Huw Jenkins complete his £500,000 takeover to become the club’s majority shareholder – have been in fine form on the pitch.

County have embarked on a seven-game unbeaten run and are on a high after beating Welsh rivals Wrexham last weekend.

The Exiles have also been FA Cup giant-killers in recent times, beating both Leicester, Leeds and Middlesbrough at Rodney Parade while holding Tottenham to a fourth-round draw before losing a Wembley replay.

Coughlan said: “Surprisingly everybody fit, there’s been a few miraculous recoveries.

“They probably studied the Wrexham game and what would have come through would have the atmosphere and the noise of our fans.

“Irrespective this season whether we’ve been winning, losing or drawing, our fans have got right behind us and at times dragged us over the line.

“That’s unique and a strength of this football club and community.

“You can hear everything (on the touchline), sometimes you don’t want to, because they’re that close. They’re on top of you and it’s a unique atmosphere.

“It is hostile, it is noisy, and when they start beating that drum it’s an atmosphere to savour.”

United have not played since a 2-2 home draw with Tottenham on January 14, and Coughlan joked Ten Hag’s squad had probably been sunning themselves in the Caribbean while his players had been “slogging it out” in the British winter.

“They’ll be well rested and sun tanned,” laughed Coughlan.

“They would have been in the Caribbean while we’ve been slogging it out in the wind and rain.

“It’s the Premier League, that’s privileges when you get to that level.

“But I don’t think that will make a difference. They’ll be fresh with the little break they’ve had, and we’re going up against an elite football club and a top group of Premier League and international players.

“Athletes, machines – call them what you want – we’ve got a lot on our plate and you’d anticipate Manchester United having more of the ball and creating chances.

“But we’ll have one or two moments in the game and it’s about taking those moments.”

Graham Coughlan was delighted after his Newport side secured a money-spinning FA Cup fourth-round tie with boyhood club Manchester United thanks to a 3-1 replay win at Eastleigh.

After drawing 1-1 at Rodney Parade last time around, both clubs knew the prize on offer at the Silverlake Stadium.

Top scorer Paul McCallum pulled the fifth-tier Spitfires level after Aaron Wildig’s early opener.

But James Clarke and Will Evans ended the hosts’ fairytale run as dreams of a fourth-round debut against Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils were crushed.

Coughlan’s side will earn £400,000 due to the tie being picked for television coverage.

And the Exiles manager said: “It’s a dream come true.

“Personally, for me and my family, it is a hell of an honour. We’re a big Man United family, we’ve followed them through thick and thin.

“We’ve been to FA Cup finals with them, but that’s a story for another day.

“It means a lot to the football club but it means a lot to this group of players. This group of players have absolutely run through brick walls and they’ve put their bodies on the line since they’ve come in. I’m really proud of them.

“Let’s take nothing away from Eastleigh. They have taken the scalp of a League One team here already in Reading. I’m pretty sure they would have fancied doing a League Two side tonight so fair play to them.

“I hope to see them push on from tonight and I hope that they can get into the play-offs.

“This is a really good club with some great people at it. I don’t want to be unfair to Eastleigh but I think there were a few more moments of quality from ourselves.”

After seeing his side’s fine run ended, Eastleigh boss Richard Hill labelled it a “punch in the face”.

He said: “This will be a memory which lives for a while.

“Over the time I’ve been at the club, the three stints, looking back I always said the one game I’d want back is the Grimsby game back and in time this will be a game I’d like back again.

“The cup run’s been great. It’s brought a lot of exposure to the football club, it’s brought the fans out. The fans were brilliant, they deserve a lot of credit because they stuck with us until the end.

“I know I divide opinion with a lot of them, but I’ve got to thank them. They were brilliant.

“To look back on the cup run, beating Reading was great. But the prize for this was massive and that’s what hurts the most; what the prize could have been. Not just for me, or the players, but for the media and being around those players who would have been coming here.

“It would have been a great occasion for everything around the football club.

“Newport were bright, sharper and a little bit more streetwise on the night. They deserved the victory, you’ve got to give credit to them.”

Newport set up a fairytale tie with Manchester United with a 3-1 FA Cup third-round win at non-league Eastleigh.

Goals from James Clarke and Will Evans sent the Welsh side through after Paul McCallum briefly levelled for the fifth-tier Spitfires following Aaron Wildig’s early opener.

The Exiles will host 12-time cup winners United at Rodney Parade on January 28.

There was a shock at Ashton Gate where Championship club Bristol City overcame 10-man West Ham 1-0.

Tommy Conway, who earned the Robins a replay with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium on January 7, claimed the early winner after capitalising on a defensive mistake.

A disappointing evening for the Premier League Hammers was compounded by Said Benrahma’s 51st-minute red card, with City going on to host either Nottingham Forest or Blackpool.

Matheus Cunha struck an extra-time winner from the penalty spot as Wolves progressed to a Black Country derby at West Brom by twice coming from behind to beat Brentford 3-2.

Ex-Wanderers defender Nathan Collins gave the Bees a 13th-minute lead at Molineux before Nelson Semedo levelled.

Neal Maupay restored Brentford’s advantage only for Nathan Fraser to force an additional 30 minutes, which was decided by Cunha’s spot-kick following Shandon Baptiste’s foul on Pedro Neto.

Luton avoided an upset by hitting back to beat Bolton 2-1.

Dion Charles gave the League One Trotters an 11th-minute advantage but the top-flight visitors overturned the deficit thanks to Tahith Chong and Chiedozie Ogbene to earn a trip to either Crystal Palace or Everton.

In Tuesday evening’s other replay, Tony Mowbray registered his first win as Birmingham boss after a last-minute strike from substitute Koji Miyoshi secured a 2-1 success over Hull.

Jason Lokilo’s first Tigers goal edged his side ahead at St Andrew’s but Jay Stansfield levelled before Miyoshi’s dramatic finish earned Blues a trip to Championship rivals Leicester.

Non-league Eastleigh’s FA Cup run was ended with a 3-1 third-round replay defeat to Newport.

Reaching the third round represented the Vanarama National League side’s joint-best run in the competition and they earned a home replay with a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade.

But the Sky Bet League Two outfit showed their class to earn a home tie against Manchester United in the fourth round.

The Exiles got off to the perfect start as Aaron Wildig nipped in to pounce on a loose ball in the box to put the visitors ahead in the third minute.

Former Morecambe man Wildig came close to a second, but he could only find the side netting later in the half.

Top scorer Paul McCallum, a former West Ham youngster, levelled shorty after the restart with a thunderous half-volley.

Veteran defender James Clarke, who scored in the first tie, restored County’s lead on the hour-mark.

Newport found the side netting again, this time through Seb Palmer-Houlden.

Will Evans eventually put the game to bed with 10 minutes to go.

Eastleigh stopper Joe McDonnell produced a good save to keep out Byrn Morris late on.

Newport head coach Graham Coughlan believes his team learned their lesson as they defeated Vanarama National League side Barnet 4-1.

After conceding late at Rodney Parade in the first game, the south Wales outfit settled the replay by netting three times in the first 25 minutes.

The Sky Bet League Two club now host Eastleigh in the third round of the FA Cup, and Coughlan was pleased with the reaction of his side.

He said: “I think we learned from the first game. We got our tactics spot on.

“So all plaudits go to the lads for what they’ve done tonight, as that was a really tough game.

“Dean Brennan has got his team playing really well and with confidence, and they pass the ball really well.

“They’ve got some dangerous players and we knew it was going to be tough. But it was emphatic in the end.

“It just takes one incident, or one lack of concentration, to flip the game on its head. So it’s very difficult to relax.”

Newport took a fifth-minute lead when Omar Bogle crossed for Lewis Payne to fire home at the far post, before the two swapped roles eight minutes later when the 30-year-old netted.

The tie looked over after 25 minutes when Danny Collinge – whose late equaliser in the first tie earned the replay – headed past goalkeeper Laurie Walker from a Nick Townsend goal-kick and into his own net.

Barnet had a lifeline when they hit back in the 37th minute, after Harry Pritchard scored from close range – although replays showed he handled the ball.

Idris Kanu hit the bar from 25 yards out in the 66th minute, the hosts’ best chance of the second half.

But the impressive Seb Palmer-Houlden made sure of victory 10 minutes later when he ran through on a long ball and finished coolly – ending any thoughts of a home-side comeback.

Barnet manager Brennan believed such a poor opening was the death knell for the chances of his side.

He said: “Our defending in the first 25 minutes was kamikaze, you can’t go three down that quickly in a game of this magnitude.

“We managed to pull a goal back, and we were reaching for the second – we hit the crossbar, but the better team won.

“We never give in, maybe it was the class of the division above that was the difference. We haven’t got enough of that class.

“Their finishing was clinical, the fourth goal was a great counter-attack from them, and the third goal was just schoolboy stuff.

“The game is about both boxes – they defended their box better than we did.”

Newport scored three times in the first 25 minutes as they defeated Vanarama National League side Barnet 4-1 to book a clash with Eastleigh in the FA Cup third round.

The Sky Bet League Two outfit took a fifth-minute lead when Omar Bogle crossed for Lewis Payne to fire home at the far post, before the two swapped roles eight minutes later when the 30-year old netted.

The tie looked over after 25 minutes when Danny Collinge – whose late goal at Rodney Parade in the first tie forced the replay – headed past goalkeeper Laurie Walker from a Nick Townsend goal-kick and into his own net.

Barnet hit back in the 37th minute when Harry Pritchard hit home from close range – although replays showed he handled the ball.

Idris Kanu hit the bar from 25 yards out in the 66th minute, the hosts’ best chance of the second half.

But Seb Palmer-Houlden made sure of victory 10 minutes later when he ran through on a long ball and finished coolly – ending any thoughts of a Barnet comeback.

Newport manager Graham Coughlan praised his side for a “professional performance” as they beat Oldham 2-0 at Rodney Parade thanks to two goals from Shane McLoughlin to progress to the FA Cup second round.

The defender opened the scoring as he drilled into the bottom corner after 20 minutes and settled any late nerves with a second goal, a long-range piledriver, 10 minutes from time.

Coughlan is pleased to be in the hat for round two, but he admitted that it was not a game to live long in the memory for anyone other than McLoughlin.

“We got the job done,” said the Exiles boss. “We know how important the FA Cup to the history and tradition of this football club, not to mention the financial side of it.

“It’s probably best described as a good, solid, professional performance.”

Coughlan felt his side should have won more comfortably with Declan Drysdale going close on two occasions, Aaron Wildig seeing an effort cleared off the line and Omar Bogle failing to hit the target with several chances before McLoughlin settled the contest.

“I sound like a broken down record because we seem to have these conversations every week; we need to be more ruthless, more clinical in the final third,” said the Irishman.

“Nick Townsend pulled off two good saves for us as well. They tested us, they asked questions, and it was a tough afternoon.

“We’re really pleased to get through because Oldham are a good team with a good manager, and we’re happy with our afternoon’s work.”

Townsend denied Joe Nuttall with a superb save just before half-time and also prevented substitute Alex Reid from levelling on the hour, while James Norwood wasted an early chance after a poor back-pass from Scot Bennett.

Oldham boss Micky Mellon, taking charge of the Latics for only the fourth time, was disappointed by the quality of the match and by his side’s timid performance.

“We had an opportunity of trying to get a result in the FA Cup,” he said. “We’re a non-league team at the minute, but Newport weren’t going so great and it was an opportunity to show that fight and fire to try to get a result, but it was a very flat afternoon.

“There was little or no atmosphere, it was a bit dead. And we couldn’t string two passes together. We looked nervous, for some reason. I don’t know why, but we took too long to get going.

“We were lacking in qualities against a Football League club and we need to be better.

“We huffed and puffed a little bit in the second half, but, all in all, we went out with a whimper.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank paid tribute to debutant goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe after his two spot-kick saves ensured the Bees edged past Newport 3-0 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade.

Mathias Jensen thought he had won the Carabao Cup tie for the visitors in the 88th minute but teenage substitute Kiban Rai headed home deep into stoppage time for the hosts to take the game to spot-kicks.

Adam Lewis then hit a post with Newport’s first effort, before Balcombe saved from Nathan Wood and Bryn Morris, and Keane Lewis-Potter settled the contest in the Premier League side’s favour.

“Our debut goalkeeper made fantastic saves in the shoot-out,” said Frank.

“He’s been at the club since he was eight years old and it’s a fantastic story for him to make a debut like this with his family watching in the stadium.

“We want to go far in the cup competitions, and you need to get the job done. We did that in the end.”

Frank praised League Two County for their dogged display.

“It’s all about getting through,” added the Dane, who was forced into bringing on Jensen, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa after an hour.

“Of course, we’d have loved to come here and win 3-0 but it’s never easy.

“I had to bring on three more experienced guys. It’s always a balance. You want to play some of the ones who don’t play so much. With all due respect, that should be enough to win the game. But we just made it right in the end.

“Big credit to Newport, I think they defended very well. They put a lot of effort into it and made it very difficult for us.

“I could definitely see why they have created upsets in the past, and they’ve had a decent start to the season with three wins in the first five. I see them having a very good season.”

Exiles manager Graham Coughlan had mixed emotions after a fantastic effort from his players.

Midfielder Harry Charsley typified their performance, heading off the line to deny Lewis-Potter early on before heading just wide at the other end from an Omar Bogle cross.

“I am proud of the lads. They will get all of the plaudits and pats on backs they deserve but, at the end of the day, you want to win football matches,” he said.

“We were very good but that didn’t get us through to the next round and we want to be winners and to be successful.

“We had probably the best chance of the game with Harry Charsley stealing into the six-yard box.

“When you play the big boys, you need those moments and slices of luck.”

Brentford avoided becoming Newport’s latest cup victims as they won 3-0 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade.

Adam Lewis hit a post with Newport’s first effort, before Nathan Wood and Bryn Morris both saw theirs saved by Bees debutant Ellery Balcombe, and Keane Lewis-Potter settled the contest in the Premier League side’s favour.

Mathias Jensen thought he had won it in the 88th minute but teenage substitute Kiban Rai headed home deep into stoppage time to take the tie to spot-kicks.

The Welsh side have earned shock wins over Leeds, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Watford and Luton in the last five years but they were denied another scalp as Brentford avoided a repeat of last year’s shoot-out defeat to Gillingham.

Exiles boss Graham Coughlan made five changes from Saturday’s 3-1 home win over Sutton.

Jonny Maxted made his debut in goal, while Josh Seberry came into the back line, Matty Bondswell and James Waite were drafted into midfield and fit-again Omar Bogle started up front.

Brentford made nine changes, with Vitaly Janelt and goalscorer Kevin Schade the only survivors from their weekend draw against Crystal Palace.

Thomas Frank handed debuts to goalkeeper Balcombe, Ukrainian midfielder Yehor Yarmoliuk and teenage forward Michael Olakigbe.

The first opportunity arrived after 18 minutes as the visitors recycled a corner and Lewis-Potter’s header looped over Maxted, but Harry Charsley was in the right place to clear the danger from under his own crossbar.

Kristoffer Ajer then saw a side-footed effort from 25 yards comfortably saved by Maxted two minutes later, before Schade’s fierce drive from the edge of the area was deflected behind.

That was one of eight corners won by Brentford in the first half but, despite enjoying 76 per cent possession, they could not get the early goal.

The home side could have opened the scoring after 34 minutes when Aaron Wildig and Bogle linked up well down the left flank and the striker produced a clever cross to pick out Charsley, who placed his header just wide of Balcombe’s right-hand post.

The lively Olakigbe went closest in the opening stages of the second half with a fizzing effort just over the angle of post and bar.

But Frank had seen enough after an hour and he introduced experienced trio Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Jensen.

Mbeumo forced Maxted into a smart save almost immediately.

Jensen made the visitors’ pressure tell two minutes from the end of normal time as he tapped in from close range after Mbeumo’s cross was cut back across goal by Lewis-Potter.

But County refused to lie down and Rai’s added-time header ensured the tie went the distance.