Cambridge United youngster George Hoddle draws inspiration from Tottenham Hotspur legend and second cousin Glenn Hoddle ahead of FA Youth Cup tie against Arsenal

As a lifelong Tottenham Hotspur supporter, George Hoddle will have a little added incentive to get one over Arsenal when Cambridge United’s Under-18s walk out at the Emirates Stadium in the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup on Thursday night.

The name Hoddle and Spurs will forever be entwined, with footballing legend Glenn having made almost 500 appearances for the club in the 1970s and ’80s before returning as manager in the early 2000s.

And it is more than a mere coincidence that the U’s youngster shares the same surname as the former England boss. Glenn is George’s second cousin and he has been at the Abbey Stadium on more than one occasion this season to watch United’s academy stars on their historic run to the last eight.

“I’m a Spurs fan, it runs through the family,” said George. “Glenn is great with me. He’s always there for advice and I try to speak to him a lot.

“Having someone like him, who was as good as he was and been that successful, to go to can only be a good thing when it comes to big games like Arsenal.”

Hoddle, who earned 53 senior international caps for England during his playing days, can only have been impressed with what he has seen from George and his team-mates.

After seeing off Stevenage, Portsmouth and Colchester United in the early rounds of the competition, they then made the entire country stand up and take notice by beating nine-time winners Chelsea in round four. That was followed by a very professional showing in the 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, which set up the trip to north London.

A combination of technical ability and gaining valuable experience out on loan have been pinpointed as major contributing factors to the club-record run, yet Hoddle – a ball-playing midfielder like Glenn – also feels that there is one other vital aspect.

“We’ve got a lot of good players obviously and the loans are helping. They make us more robust as young lads and we can pass those experiences on to the other players that haven’t gone out on loan yet,” he said.

“But a big thing is the camaraderie within the group we’ve got. A lot of us have known each other for a long time now and played so many matches together.

“During the week we aren’t always together because some of the lads are out on loan and that also means we’re not together for matches on a Saturday either.

“But when we’re all back together for the FA Youth Cup games, that understanding is there straight away and the relationships on the pitch just click back. I think a lot of that is down to how close we are as a group.”

The big question is, having sprung one major upset in disposing of Chelsea, can United repeat the trick against the Gunners?

The fact that this tie is away from home at a 60,000-seater venue gives the tie a completely different complexion, yet Hoddle is confident that United will not be overawed by the occasion.

He said: “Most people are going to see us as the underdogs again, but we’re a confident group. We believe in our ability and we’ll be going there to try to win the game.

“There’s a fine line between getting carried away with the fact this is one of the biggest teams in the country we’re playing against in a massive stadium and showing them no respect. We’ve got to get the balance right.

“The coaching staff are great. They’ll do all the analysis like normal and have us properly prepared for what we need to do.

“We can’t go into it with any fear. That’s what we did against Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday and it worked, so why change it now?

“I’ve not played in a ground like that before and I’m sure it’s the same for the rest of the lads, but we’ve got to play the game and not the occasion. It’s important we keep our heads and play on our terms.”

Another pleasing part of this crop of players’ success has been the support they have received.

The team has created a genuine feeling of unity throughout the club that seems to be gathering an increasing amount of momentum.

More than 1,000 supporters were present at the Abbey for the Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday ties, and the club has sold almost 2,800 tickets for Arsenal – and if conversations on social media are anything to go by, they could have fulfilled an even bigger allocation.

“It’s so important and the lads don’t underestimate how big it is to have so many supporters following us,” added Hoddle.

“The numbers are amazing and to have heard them singing at the Abbey like they did against Sheffield Wednesday was something else.

“We really appreciate it and it just gives us even more of an incentive to go and win at Arsenal.”