Former Swindon Town, Walsall and Newport County AFC boss Michael Flynn on Cheltenham Town challenge, learning Spanish, Aaron Downes and holidaying with Charlie Austin

“There is only so much washing and ironing you can do, so my wife will be delighted I am back in work!”

Michael Flynn enjoys a laugh when discussing his return to management with Cheltenham Town after a six-month break, but in reality he has been anything but bored. The 43-year-old Welshman, who has previously worked as a supermarket shelf-stacker and a postie, is always looking for ways to improve himself.

With a Uefa Pro Licence, an LMA diploma and a BA in sports journalism already on his CV, Flynn is now committed to learning Spanish and can often be seen putting in his daily work on the Duolingo app. Since leaving Swindon Town in January, the former estate agent part-owner believes he has used his time wisely.

“I am not someone who thinks I know it all,” Flynn says. “I have done a diploma with the Welsh government in business and leadership and I’ve spoken to a lot of CEOs, in and out of football. This all helps you learn, whether it’s different cultures or industries where you see how people work and how they deal with things. So it’s been a useful few months out of the game, although I am not sure how much I’ll need Spanish in Cheltenham!”

Flynn started out in management at his home city club Newport County AFC in March 2017, staring relegation from the Football League in the face. He somehow dragged them to safety, which he regards as his most important achievement to date. His most enjoyable, however, was helping the Exiles secure promotion back to the EFL after a 25-year absence. He was part of the late Justin Edinburgh’s team that enjoyed a 2-0 Wembley win over Wrexham in 2013.

“We had so many special times together and Newport is a club I love,” Flynn says. “If we’d gone down in 2017, I don’t think we’d have come back so that stands out. The fans were passionate and 99 per cent of them were superb, although you always get the odd clown who will try and overstep the mark and you can never keep everybody happy. They were fantastic times and I’d like to mention Justin, who was a key figure and a good friend of mine. Getting promoted with him was brilliant.”

Flynn enjoyed a succession of high profile cup ties during his time in charge of Newport, taking on Manchester City, Tottenham and beating Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Leeds United. The Liverpool fan was also given the chance to pick Jurgen Klopp’s brain at a Reds training session in 2019 and was described as being “full of class” by the German coach.

Since leaving Rodney Parade in September 2021, Flynn has taken charge of a combined 105 games at Walsall and Swindon. He sees many similarities between Newport and his new club Cheltenham, although not necessarily the surroundings. “Cheltenham is a club that is run sensibly, within a budget and there is on recklessness,” he says.

“From the conversations I’ve had with the board, I’ll be given time to deliver and there will be no hasty decisions. After last season’s disappointment of relegation, we have to stabilise. Like Newport, a lot of the board are volunteers and there is no ‘sugar daddy’. The crowds are similar, but Cheltenham is a lot better area to live than Newport!”

Flynn grew up in the gritty Pillgwenlly district of the city: “We weren’t given anything on a silver spoon and Pill is a rough area, although it wasn’t necessarily when I was growing up. It was multicultural and I grew up with friends from all over the world, from Pakistan, Somalia, the Caribbean, Italy, Ireland and Scotland. We all hung around together and some of us still do. It was all about respect, manners and having that fight in you, because you could easily get left behind. It’s about discipline because a lot of them went down the wrong path, so it was tough, but it helped shape me and I loved growing up in Pill, with memories I’ll never forget.”

Attack-minded midfielder Flynn played part-time for Newport before turning professional at Barry Town, facing Porto in Europe before enjoying a successful career in the EFL with the likes of Wigan Athletic, Gillingham, Blackpool, Huddersfield Town and Bradford City, then returning to Newport. It was during his time at Huddersfield that he very nearly joined Martin Allen’s Cheltenham as a player. “I remember it well and it was very close to happening,” he says. “Martin is someone I’ve known for a long time and he is certainly a character. He nearly convinced me to come down, but something happened family wise and the timing wasn’t right.”

Flynn has faced Cheltenham a total of 12 times as a manager, including the world record for the longest range strike in football, scored by goalkeeper Tom King from a goal kick, a 7-4 EFL Trophy thriller and a 1-0 win for County at Rodney Parade a few days after Cheltenham had secured promotion to League One under Michael Duff.

The job Duff did at Cheltenham is something for which Flynn has much admiration and he planned to give the new Huddersfield Town boss a call on his way home from the training ground. “When Duffer took over they were just outside the relegation zone and he got them up,” he says. “We keep missing each other, but I need to give him a ring.”

Flynn has so far brought in five new signings, with several more in the pipeline. He worked with Scot Bennett and Ryan Haynes at Newport and he has tried to sign Harry Pell more than once at previous clubs. Former Wrexham captain Luke Young and ex-QPR youngster Arkell Jude-Boyd both arrived on Tuesday and the overall level of experience in the early additions has been notable.

He will work closely with director of football Gary Johnson and assistant manager Aaron Downes, but Flynn will have the final say on all signings. “It’s not the Michael Flynn show or the Gary Johnson show, but I am in the hot seat and the final decision will be with me,” he says. “There will be a togetherness and we’ll all give each other lists because if it’s all me, it’s not a great example to the rest of my staff. So far Aaron and I have agreed on 99 per cent of the players we’ve spoken about and so has Gary.”

Former club captain Downes has returned as Flynn’s assistant, having worked under Johnson at Torquay United for the past six years. The 39-year-old has impressed Flynn in their early dealings. “I didn’t know Aaron, but I think we can have a good relationship,” he says. “Obviously I’ve always had Wayne Hatswell with me before, but he has the chance of a permanent job with the Welsh FA and he has a one-year-old, so the timing wasn’t right for him to come in and I respect that.

“He’s a good friend of mine so am I gutted he’s not here? Yes. Does it feel a little bit weird working with someone else? Yes. But I met Aaron before I agreed to take him in and bring him on board and we got on really well. He is thorough, he’s made a really good impression so far. It is what it is and I’ll still talk to Wayne and bounce ideas off him, although he probably won’t answer the phone too much! Aaron will speak to other people throughout the season too and that’s the beauty of football: if you are one of the good ones, people will pick up the phone to you.”

Cheltenham’s players will be back in for fitness testing next Tuesday and one player linked with a move is former Southampton, Burnley and QPR striker Charlie Austin, who played under Flynn at Swindon. The two were recently pictured together on holiday in Dubai and Flynn is well aware of the speculation circling.

“I knew he was going to be there, because we keep in contact,” Flynn says. “He was fantastic for me at Swindon and we were on the beach, so we knew it’d get tongues wagging! Charlie has kept himself in good condition and he knows the conversation we had when we were away. He is someone I have a lot of time for and he’s played at the highest level, so we’ll see. I am not even teasing you, but we need to look who we can get in and see who we need.”

Flynn confirmed a new fitness coach to replace Bristol City bound Sammy Gilchrist has been identified ahead of next week’s return to work, while last term’s first team coach Ashley Vincent will remain part of the backroom team. “We have a lot to finalise and it’s been flat out preparing everything, but I am excited to be back and my boys are too,” Flynn says.

“They are my biggest fans and they’ll be at every game they can come to – they can’t wait for their Cheltenham shirts! As for the club, it’s all about sticking together and enjoying it. My teams are high energy, hard-working and with a high press. We want to get after teams, especially at home.

“We’ll always play with two up front, unless there is an injury crisis. I want as many crosses and shots on the opposition goal as possible. I've proven as a manager I can play both ways because at Newport we often had to go long because of the pitch and some of the players were not technically great, but they worked so hard and were so honest.

“I did both at Walsall and then at Swindon it was total football, so it’s about getting the balance right. We’ll be having a look at how we can hurt each opposition and we’ll obviously have a style of play, but those are the key fundamentals I want the team to have. But the biggest thing is the players respecting their teammates, the staff, club and supporters and they will be doing a lot of work in the community because that is very, very important.”