RALPH Hasenhuttl has revealed that there will be plenty of rotation for the Newport County trip on Wednesday.
Although Saints were knocked out at this stage of the EFL Cup last season by Championship side Brentford, they did go on a superb run to the semi-final of the FA Cup before defeat by winners Leicester City.
A lot of those results were Saints’ best of the calendar year, not conceding a single goal in four en route to Wembley while only keeping one clean sheet in the Premier League after the New Year.
As always when a team goes on a similar run, some suggested that the cup was a distraction to the league form and could have contributed to tired legs in an already depleted squad.
But Hasenhuttl has moved to suggest this won’t be the case again, saying: “Concentrating wasn’t on the cup, I think this season we have a little bit more alternatives on the bench.
“It’s bigger and gives me more alternatives, and they really need to play, the guys, and we will definitely give them the chance.”
Some names that cropped up for a chance amid rotation were Shane Long, whose future is unclear, and Yan Valery – who with the arrival of teenage sensation Tino Livramento looks set to receive limited game time.
Hasenhuttl added: “It (Long) is an option definitely yes, up front we have a lot of opportunities and we must have a look and we will change the team also, and give them a chance to play.
“And yes absolutely. I must say he (Yan Valery) did a good job in the pre-season, he’s fitter and stronger, definitely he deserves a chance to play.”
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