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.