The History Boys

After Barnet’s best ever run in The FA Cup, Paul Fairclough’s side are already being referred to as 'The History Boys', and it seems an apt description for a team including one of the grand old men of English football.

Former Gillingham player-manager Andy Hessenthaler, who joined Barnet in January 2006, may be 41 years old but his experience could prove a thorn in the side of a Plymouth team managed by his old friend Ian Holloway.

"Me and Ian have had some ding-dong battles down the years," Hessenthaler said.

"When he was at QPR we used to kick great lumps out of each for 90 minutes whenever we played, but we would always find time to have a beer after the game.

"He’s doing a great job at Plymouth and he’ll make sure that they’re not complacent on Saturday. I’m really looking forward to catching up with him."

Without the twin suspensions to Dean Sinclair and Ian Hendon, picked up in the club’s League Two defeat to MK Dons on Saturday, Hessenthaler may have been forced to watch the action from the substitutes bench, but he is now expected to start one of the biggest matches in Barnet’s history.

"I’m very disappointed for the pair of them, Dean especially," he said.

"I’ve played an awful lot of big FA Cup matches in my career and this would have been a great opportunity for Dean to show what he was capable of."

Now, however, it’s Hessenthaler that has a chance to shine, and the former Watford midfielder is determined to make the most of it.

"I never thought I would be playing in the greatest cup competition in the world at the age of 41," he said.

"I think I can really help the team on Saturday. There will be a lot of nervous energy out there, even I’ll probably have some butterflies, but we just need to make sure that it’s channelled in the right way."

And if Barnet do manage to upset their Championship opponents it won’t come as a surprise to a man who has ripped up the formbook in the past.

"I made it to the quarter finals with Gillingham under Peter Taylor when we played Chelsea in 2000," Hessenthaler said.

"For a relatively small club to get that far was incredible and to be able to pits your wits against Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly was unbelievable and an experience I’ll never forget."

Sadly for Gillingham, that match ended in 5-0 defeat, a scoreline that Hessenthaler hopes isn’t repeated on Saturday.

"It’s going to be a tough match but if we play like we did in The Third Round we’ve got a great chance," he said.

And if they did go through where would Hessenthaler fancy a farewell party?

"Well, most of the lads have already played at Manchester United but I never have," he said. "It would be nice to go to Old Trafford at least once in my career."

Surely not even Holloway would begrudge him that.

Do you remember Gillingham's run to the quarter final in 2000? Click here to see the results from that year?