Author: Thomas Ryan McGlinchey, Academic Associate in Sport Science, Nottingham Trent University

It’s fair to say me and my team-mates at the non-league football club Tamworth FC were pretty keyed up as we prepared for our FA Cup third-round match against Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur on January 12. We’re 96 places below them in the football pecking order and we all have day jobs (in my case as a sports psychology lecturer at Nottingham Trent University). Unusually for us, we met at Drayton Manor Hotel for “pre-match”, where we could eat and relax prior to the game. Usually, especially if it’s a Tuesday night game, it’s a manic rush to eat,…