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'Good goal, sir!' - the teacher aiming for Trophy glory at Wembley

Glen Taylor playing for SpennymoorGetty Images

Glen Taylor has combined scoring over 200 goals for Spennymoor with a career as a teacher

Adam Lanigan
BBC Sport, North East & Cumbria

Spennymoor Town are used to punching above their weight in non-league football. But on Sunday, they aim to land the biggest blow in their history.

The National League North side are heading to Wembley for the FA Trophy final against Aldershot Town from the league above.

County Durham club Spennymoor have already knocked out three National League sides to get here, and now a fourth one stands between them and the trophy.

And if Spennymoor are victorious at the national stadium, they will become only the second club to have won both the FA Trophy and the FA Vase.

Before their big day in London, BBC Sport has spoken to two people entwined in the club's fabric.

Schooling pupils, and defenders

By day, he is 'Sir'. But on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings, Glen Taylor turns into one of the most prolific strikers in non-league football.

Taylor has been with Spennymoor since 2017, which he has combined with family life and teaching at a school in Houghton-le-Spring.

He has plundered 210 goals in 394 appearances, during which time the Moors have been ever-present in the sixth tier of English football against teams with bigger attendances and greater resources.

There were chances to the paid ranks, but the striker, who turns 35 on Sunday, explains why he has stayed loyal to the club.

"I could have left when I was 27, 28," he said. "But we had just had our first child and I had a good career.

"It could have meant leaving my job and leaving the area on a one or two-year deal for less money. That never made any sense.

"People say, 'you've got no ambition', but it's about making sensible decisions. If you asked someone to go and work for a better company but on significantly less money, they wouldn't do it.

"I couldn't be happier. I have a really good job and I'm at the best non-league club in the north east."

'Good goal, sir'

Taylor works at World Alternative Education, a school for boys who have been excluded from mainstream education.

He believes his footballing exploits have allowed him to establish a positive rapport with his pupils.

"All the boys are into football and it helps that one of the other teachers is an EFL assistant referee," he added. "I think I've gained a bit of respect from them because of it.

"The usual questions I get asked are 'how much do you get paid">