Inside Tamworth dressing room where Spurs will get ready for FA Cup clash with six showers, portable heater and 16 seats
TAMWORTH have rolled out the red carpet for Tottenham’s millionaire superstars — by painting the away dressing room navy and white.
But that is where the similarities between Spurs’ £1billion stadium and the National League minnows’ home ground end.
For Son Heung-min and Co will walk into a tiny Portakabin housing one L-shaped bench, a battered and torn massage table, one rickety tactics board, a plastic bin and a portable electric heater.
Their cramped dressing room for Sunday’s David v Goliath FA Cup third-round-tie in Staffordshire also contains two small sinks, a dinky mirror, two toilets and six showers.
But Tamworth’s Lamb Ground stadium manager Andy Jones warned: “The only problem they’ll have is if they try to use all six at the same time.
“Then the pressure drops and the water becomes a trickle!”
SunSport was given a VIP tour around the Lambs’ home on Thursday.
The dressing room’s leaky corrugated roof has been fixed to prevent Ange Postecoglou’s players getting soggy as they put their kit on.
But there is no underfloor heating beneath the ancient lino.
And only one portable heater as a second would trip the electric circuit and plunge the players into darkness.
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Spurs’ crumbling dressing-room door also comes with its own letter box, but it does have a brand new door handle and lock after freezing temperatures caused the key to snap.
Tamworth striker Dan Creaney, 30, said: “Spurs won’t like our changing rooms — even we don’t like them.
Pie's now the limit for Levy
EXCLUSIVE By Will Pugh
DANIEL LEVY has been invited for a pie and chips in Tamworth’s Portakabin boardroom.
Spurs’ millionaire chairman will watch Sunday’s David v Goliath FA Cup tie from one of the National League minnows’ 518 cramped plastic stadium seats.
It is a far cry from Levy’s luxurious, cushioned heated seat at Tottenham’s £1billion state-of-the-art ground.
And Lambs owner Bob Andrews insisted Levy will be brought “back down to earth” by the experience.
Andrews said: “Tottenham’s facilities are out of this world, especially compared to us.
“We are a local club, this tie will bring them back down to earth. But we have brought in caterers, so pie and chips are on the menu.
“We’ve had other big games but nothing of this nature before. Tottenham are simply a massive club.”
Premier League outfit Spurs have requested an extra 14 seats adjacent to the cramped away dugout to accommodate manager Ange Postecoglou’s army of coaching staff.
But Tamworth can only fit in 12 — commandeered from their SOCIAL CLUB.
And Andrews, 78, added: “Tottenham’s players and their bench will get some stick.
“Their dugout is next to our shed, where our passionate supporters are, so there will be some verbals going on.”
Bookies make fifth-tier Tamworth 16-1 underdogs to cause one of the biggest FA Cup shocks in history.
But ex-Lamb Mark Phillips, now head of their academy goalkeeping department, said: “Everybody expects us to lose, but there might be an upset — 1-0 to us.
“It’s going to be tough for them, that is where we might have an edge on them.
“If we press them high they will probably get around us. We will have to sit back, soak up some pressure and get them on the break.
“Our set-pieces will cause them some trouble, especially with their goalkeeping problems.”
“We also have six showers — but only three of them work!
“Perhaps some of the Spurs lads will enjoy the experience because it will make them feel grateful for what they’ve got . . . but they won’t like our place.”
Tamworth have already KO’d League One Huddersfield in the first round.
And Creaney added: “Huddersfield certainly didn’t like coming here and there aren’t many National League teams who do.
“The fans are really good at the Lamb and they get on the oppositions’ backs. Spurs are in for a difficult day. The stick they’ll get from our 12th man might just help us get a result.”
In the away dugout there are just four plastic back-less seats for Postecoglou and his coaching staff with a wooden bench for the subs.
But the fifth-tier hosts plan to place an additional 12 social-club seats to accommodate the Aussie’s team.
Lambs boss Andy Peaks hopes Spurs hate every minute of their stay in Staffordshire.
He said: “Spurs’ players and manager deserve our respect, but when the game starts we’ll be what we need to be — horrible and nasty and in their faces.
“I’m sure they will know what to expect because it’s been talked about so much.
“We’ve got to make it as difficult as we can and, hopefully, they have a few players who don’t fancy it and we have 11 players who play out of their skin.
“Spurs will find it really intense because our supporters will be really close to the pitch and right behind the away dug-out.”