‘Tottenham are going to hate it’: Tamworth up for FA Cup shock
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Players believe tight changing room with an electric heater could give them the chance to catch Spurs cold on Sunday. At Old Trafford for the draw it was like: “Wow.” There was the massive excitement of a home tie against a club of Tottenham’s magnitude. I went to watch them at home to Liverpool last month and when you go to a stadium like that, it opens your eyes to what you’re going to be facing. I took my youngest son, Jacob, who is 21 and has come with me to watch a few opposition teams. It was a fantastic occasion and a bit of a reward for him because I’ve taken him to some cold, wet, horrible places over the years.
![[Ben Fisher]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2022/11/21/Ben_Fisher.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
So it was a bit of a payback: a nice, corporate day at Tottenham. They gave me great tickets – they put us in the directors’ box, only a few rows behind Daniel Levy, so fair play, because they didn’t have to do that. I didn’t speak to him; he probably had no idea who I was. I was very tempted to wear a Tamworth hat but I thought they might not let me in. They are an unbelievable club and this game is what the FA Cup is about.
![[Tranmere’s manager Andy Peaks celebrates the win over Burton with the goalkeeper Jas Singh.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c3bc06b4321beb61b97c3541a47940fba715847f/0_0_3999_2666/master/3999.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
We are one of three part-time teams in the National League. In my squad I’ve got accountants, a zip salesman, bricklayers, teachers, retail workers, a personal trainer. I’m a support worker Tuesday-Friday at Tresham College in Kettering and mainly work with children who have got high needs, so it’s quite a demanding but also very rewarding job. It is difficult to combine it with football, especially with the stack of midweek games, but it’s a good mix and a nice getaway. We recently went to Hartlepool in the FA Trophy, I got in at 2.30am and was back in college for 8am.
![[Tamworth’s Tom Tonks]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/6cc06a2649435cf0b5ea7612dec67dcd3f3c33f8/0_0_4185_2752/master/4185.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
