Liverpool loanee Adam Lewis has been flooded with messages to send Manchester United out of the FA Cup at Newport and says he has been in contact with “good mate” Mason Mount about it.
Left-back Lewis is in his second temporary spell at League Two Newport and will be thrust into the spotlight on Sunday when United make their first trip to Rodney Parade for a fourth round tie.
Ever since Newport eased past Eastleigh in their third-round replay, Lewis says his phone has not stopped pinging with messages from his native Merseyside insisting Liverpool’s bitter rivals are dumped out of the cup.
“I’m just waiting for one off the boss (Jurgen Klopp) now, he might drop me one hopefully before Sunday.
“I’ve played with (United midfielder) Mason Mount a lot at international level with England, from the under-16s through to the under-19s.
“He’s a good mate of mine and I spoke to him the other day to see if he was playing. I was trying to get some inside information, but he wasn’t giving me any.”
Lewis grew up in Walton close to Liverpool’s home Anfield and chose to join his boyhood heroes over neighbours Everton at the age of six.
Lewis is certainty no stranger to Liverpool-United games and the intensity the fixture brings.
He said: “It was always good to beat them because even at youth level that rivalry is always there.
“I remember when Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were playing for Liverpool and the tackles they were throwing in.
“It just works its way down from the first team – and you feel you want to be like that.
“It’s the FA Cup for a reason and there’s always upsets. Look at how far Grimsby got last year.”
Whatever happens at Rodney Parade, Lewis is hoping to make one trip to Wembley this season after Liverpool reached next month’s Carabao Cup final.
“I was part of pre-season and there with the team when we got beat on penalties in the Community Shield by Manchester City (in 2019),” said Lewis.
“I haven’t been to a game for some while now because I’ve been down in Newport. But it would be great to get there and see us win another trophy.”