Newport County manager Michael Flynn had to deflect from his side's mammoth task of beating Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley in their FA Cup fourth-round replay on Wednesday night to apologise to Mauricio Pochettino following a leaked scouting report.
The file contained information from Spurs' previous games and pointed out flaws the Premier League club's squad, including Michel Vorm's 'reluctance' to come and collect crosses, Eric Dier's 'lack of pace' and Davinson Sanchez's failure to cover when Serge Aurier bombs forward.
The report also said Harry Kane should not be left unmarked at corners, but that's exactly how the forward was able to notch Spurs' equaliser late on the first time round.
"I've dealt with the leak of the so-called secret dossier manager to manager," explained Flynn. "Things have a habit of coming out and it happens in football. It's the way it is, nothing is private these days, but there was no malice in it.
"I apologised on our behalf to Mauricio for it getting out. It was helpful in preparing for the first game against Spurs because we needed all the help we could get."
The report helped Newport secure a 1-1 draw and a trip to Wembley for the replay, but Flynn highlighted the file was far from littered with solely negative analysis.
"There were a lot of good things in there also," smiled Flynn. "Look, it's something we do on every team and we did it on Lincoln and Colchester in our last two matches.
"It is a report that is done week in, week out by our scouts and it is a good tool."
Team news
Pochettino, on the other hand, spoke of his plans to field a strong team at Wembley on Wednesday to ensure Spurs don't come unstuck against the League Two outfit.
"If you look at the starting 11 tomorrow, 90% of the players have started in the Champions League," stated the Argentine. "We are going to rotate the starting 11, for sure. We are going to give possibilities to players who have not played regularly in the Premier League.
"We are happy everyone is available to be selected. That’s so important for the next games. We have a very busy period and we need everyone."
Pochettino also confirmed the return of Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose to the Spurs squad after injury layoffs.
Newport will be without defender Ben White due to injury, whilst Sean Rigg took the sudden decision to retire from professional football to become a tattoo artist.
Newport have lost both of their league games since securing a draw 11 days ago at Rodney Parade, whereas Spurs have only lost to lower league opposition in the FA Cup twice since the Premier League was formed in 1992.