Sutton United chairman Bruce Elliott praised staff off the pitch ahead the club’s FA Cup fifth-round clash against Arsenal.

“I think it’s a bit naff to say that Sutton United is a special club, but I do think it is,” Mr Elliott said as he tucked into his burger and chips during a rare quiet minute at Gander Green Lane.

The past few weeks have been ‘manic’ according to the chairman, but he praised the ‘unsung heroes’ for helping the club run smoothly during the club’s busiest period in recent memory. 

He said: “Our ambition each year as a non-league club is to try and reach the first round of the FA Cup and to find ourselves in the fifth round, being swept along on this unbelievable journey, is a real achievement.

“What people don’t always realise is that for the supporters and volunteers, the real unsung heroes, it is really nice for them to enjoy the ride as well.

“It has been a big ask for quite a few of our guys, but they’ve all stepped up to the plate and they all realise that these are times when you have to work very hard.

“It’s like a juggling act, they all have full-time jobs like our press secretary Tony, he’s taken holiday off work to be here and to be honest he ends up doing phone calls in his lunch hour, but everyone realises that it is one of the reasons why you’re in it because.

“The nice thing is that these days nobody wants to do anything for free. They always ask ‘how much’, but here we’ve got all those people who keep the whole operation going and it’s all done by volunteers, it’s amazing really.

“This is a proper football club.”

Sutton United will face Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round at Gander Green Lane on Monday, February 20. The match will be shown live on BBC One from 7.55pm.

Share your Sutton United pictures ahead of the tie by tweeting @suttonguardian.