While Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is used to life in the limelight, the same cannot be said about Andy Peaks.

Peaks is the man who has steered fifth-tier Tamworth into the FA Cup third round and, on Sunday lunchtime, will attempt to mastermind a giant-killing against Spurs that would go down in competition folklore.

“It’s still quite surreal – who we are actually playing and all the media attention that has come with it,” Peaks admits during a gap between finishing work as a teaching assistant in the foundation learning department at college and his squad’s Thursday night training session. “I think it might even take a few weeks after the game to realise what has happened.”

Peaks and Tamworth have at least built up slowly to this crescendo having reached this stage by beating Robbie Savage’s Macclesfield and League One sides Huddersfield Town and Burton Albion on the way.

The Huddersfield victory took place during Peaks’ half-term break, meaning a regular family trip to the River Severn was postponed. “This got a little bit silly,” Peaks explains through laughter. “We just moved it to another date, but in the press, it became that I had to cancel a trip to my holiday cottage in Bridgnorth and that my wife was fuming!

‘If someone wants to buy me a cottage in Bridgnorth I’d snap their hand off!’

“I’m a little careful what I say now as I don’t want things to get escalated… but if someone wants to buy me a cottage in Bridgnorth I’d absolutely snap their hand off!”

It is fair to say information about Postecoglou is easier to come by than Peaks. He chuckles again at that suggestion. “Is there not? I’m a bit disappointed by that!” he says, before offering a potted history of his football life.

In summary, Peaks grew up playing county age-group football, including with Sean Dyche. The pair remain close friends and Peaks could serve as the recently departed Everton manager’s voice double.

After an apprenticeship at Northampton Town, Peaks played part-time with the original Rushden & Diamonds. He left when they turned professional, preferring to continue to combine weekend football with his day job.

Eventually, Peaks rejoined phoenix club AFC Rushden and Diamonds, first as assistant and then as manager. When he switched to Tamworth in February 2022, Diamonds were in the play-off positions of the Southern League Premier Central – two divisions below the National League – and Tamworth were in relegation trouble.

“People frowned at me because I left a team in the play-offs for a team in the bottom four,” he explains. “But I knew there was potential and a good club at Tamworth. We stabilised the ship that first year and, more importantly, got them back together as a group of players.”

Under Peaks – who leaves the hands-on training to coaches Neil Champelovier and Tim Dudding – Tamworth first survived and then thrived. Back-to-back titles have taken them to within a step of the Football League.

In a largely full-time division, Tamworth lie in 16th place despite being one of a small handful of sides who remain semi-pro. Despite all the current distractions then, Peaks remains unmoved as to what would be his biggest accomplishment to date.

Spurs a distraction from league survival

“If we can get enough points to maintain our status, that’ll be a bigger achievement for me than anything else we’ve done – whether than be the last two promotions or the FA Cup run.”

Sunday’s game, then, is something to be enjoyed and excited about. It will not be Peaks’ first as a full-time football manager, but it was announced this week that he has signed a contract that means he will leave his college job come half-term. It will fulfil a long-held dream for Peaks and, while it will be difficult to walk away from the students he supports, he felt it necessary.

The recent Christmas break did at least afford Peaks time to do some scouting. He was in the directors’ box at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for their recent 6-3 defeat by Liverpool and the 2-2 draw with Wolves.

“Spurs have a unique way of playing. As a neutral I find it exciting and great to watch,” he begins. “We know what they’re going to bring, and we know we’re going to have to be absolutely on our ‘A’ game and they’re going to have to have an off day for it to be competitive. But that’s what these dreams are made of – it’s why we do it.”

Will Tamworth try to match Postecoglou’s famously open approach? “No, we’re quite the opposite! We have to be really cautious in games and feel our way in because we haven’t got the quality of some of the teams in the National League.”

Naturally, Sunday is a complete 3,750 sell-out but Tamworth’s pricing strategy has received a mixed reception. For a National League match, entry is £20 for adults and free for children under 10. A standard seat for the Tottenham game was £42, with a terrace spot costing £39. For children under 10, tickets were £29 and £25 respectively.

Ticket-price controversy

But the club believes the decision is justified. FA Cup gate receipts are split evenly between the two teams, while the scrapping of replays rules out a money-spinning trip to north London. Match-day costs dwarf those of Tamworth’s usual 1,200 gate, while the club wants to use the income earned from the tie for future improvements.

“I can see the reasoning, and I don’t think it’s extortionate,” Peaks says. “You have to make a bit of money when you get the opportunity because you might not get it again for a few years.

“With respect, people would normally pay £20 to watch us as a part-time team against Wealdstone who are part-time. Why would you not pay another £19 to potentially watch 16 internationals? For me, it’s a no-brainer.”

Peaks has been a popular man since the draw. While he himself follows Leeds United, his father-in-law and stepdaughter are Tottenham supporters, as is his best friend.

“I could have sold about a thousand tickets myself,” he admits. “But I limited it to close family and friends. I don’t want to take them away from people at Tamworth who have been coming for years. They deserve them.”