Joe Hart says playing in the FA Cup “will still mean everything” to him ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s third-round tie against Marine on Sunday.
Spurs travel to Merseyside this weekend to face the side who play in the Northern Premier League Division One North West - the eighth tier of English football.
Jose Mourinho’s side are 161 places above Marine in the Football League and the star-studded visitors will come up against a home team that will feature NHS workers, teachers and a refuse collector.
Hart has made all seven of his appearances in the Europa League this season and will compete against first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for a starting place in the 5pm kick-off.
The 33-year-old won the FA Cup with former club Manchester City in 2011, while he also earned a runners-up medal in 2013, and he is still relishing the opportunity to play in the competition.
“It’s exactly what it says on the tin,” Hart told the club website.
“This is why we all fell in love with football. I’ll be honest, if I get the chance to play it will still mean everything to me, it always has done and always will do.
“We all talk about football being 11 against 11, and Marine will have exactly the same mindset, which is to try to win the game.
“You have to respect the guys you’re playing against.
"They will all have their own story of why they are playing at the level they are playing, some guys will be playing above and beyond where they thought they would be, some will have slipped through the net and maybe had the ability to play higher, but have had to settle for what they are doing.
“They are in the ultimate position of just being able to go for it. They will think ‘Spurs will make changes’, and they're all the cliches you get with these games in the FA Cup, ‘they don’t fancy it’, all that, and we’ll have to prove them otherwise.”
Mourinho is expected to rotate his side for the tie and Gareth Bale is in line to feature after returning to training following a calf injury.
Spurs will be without Giovani Lo Celso, who is injured, Steven Bergwijn could be rested but Erik Lamela might feature after missing the 3-0 win over Leeds United due to a Covid-19 breach.
