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Tranmere cult hero Steven McNulty targets Spurs giantkilling in FA Cup... and dreams of taking on Harry Kane
Heard the story about the former furniture van driver preparing to take on the England captain?
Of course you have. It’s the FA Cup Third Round. Such tales are part of the tradition, although if Tranmere Rovers centre-back Steven McNulty faces Harry Kane when Tottenham arrive at Prenton Park on Friday night it will not be the culture clash it seems.
Former Liverpool trainee McNulty is accustomed to marking one of England’s premier strikers, even if his previous experience was in different circumstances.
The 35 year-old is a former teammate of Jamie Vardy, name-checked in the Leicester centre-forward’s autobiography for assisting at the start of his professional career at Fleetwood Town.
“He was the quickest thing I have ever seen,” recalls McNulty. “He was really raw at that time but could finish. We were doing okay, then he came and we won the league. After a few games you could see he could go on and play to a higher level, but even if you speak to him I’m not sure he realised just how good he was.
“We had a really good side at Fleetwood and when Jamie came in he was the icing on the cake. I think they paid £100,000 for him.
“It was the same when I was at Luton when I was up against Andre Gray. He scored 30 goals and you knew he would go higher, but Premier League is a different level.”
Mauricio Pochettino is expected to rest some of his stellar names, but McNulty is eager to face Kane, undaunted by the prospect.
“I hope he plays,” said McNulty. “You want to play their best team. All the lads will want to play against the internationals. Whoever they play it will be tough.
“They are the elite. We have young lads here aspiring to play at higher levels who want to show what they can do. Whether they can get to that level - it is tough to do it - you can’t worry who you are against. You don’t want to go out there and get smashed 7-0, but funny things happen. Look at Lincoln last year.
“When the big teams come out it’s great for the club and community. We will sell out and because we have them at home have a better chance of winning.
“Tranmere has great history in the cup. We’ve knocked these big clubs out at Prenton Park before. We might as well call it off if we do not think we can win.”
For McNulty, Tottenham’s visit is a bittersweet reminder of a top-flight career that might have been. Having joined Liverpool’s junior ranks as seven-year-old, he lost interest in football in his late teens. It needed the intervention of a former Liverpool scout, Owen Brown, to rekindle his passion for the game.
“When I left Liverpool I had just had enough. I packed in playing and had no thoughts at all of playing again,” he said.
“I stopped for a year and went off delivering furniture. Owen put me in touch with Mike Marsh, who was managing Burscough Town at the time.
“They rang me up one Friday night and said, ‘We need a centre-half tomorrow. Will you play?’
“I didn’t even have a pair of boots. Owen got in touch with someone he knew at Adidas and got me a pair. That was it. I was getting £100 a game and I fell back in love with the game.
“From there I followed Owen to Vauxhall Motors, then Barrow and then first worked with Micky Mellon (Tranmere manager) at Fleetwood. Then I moved on to Luton and to Tranmere.”
McNulty has been a cult hero at all his clubs but the FA Cup attention has predictably focused on the superficialities of his appearance - grey hair and a physique uncommon to professional players.
“You would not be able to print what I get called,” says McNulty. “People take one look at you and probably think, ‘He should not be on a football pitch’, but then ask them again after the game. I think they might say something different.
“When I was younger I was cutting corners and not living right. That held me back. I wish I had the attitude then that I do now. There is a little bit of regret, but I would not change much. I’ve had an alright career. Tranmere is a massive club to play for.”
So would a win on Friday night and Kane’s shirt would make a decent souvenir?
“I won’t swap shirts with anyone. I am not into that. I just see it as my job,” he said.