By Julian Whittle

Last updated at 12:46, Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Pubs are looking forward to a bumper pay day when Carlisle United take on Premier League Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow.

United have sold more than 10,500 tickets for the third-round Capital One Cup tie at Brunton Park. The attendance could top 12,000.

That is more than three times the most recent home gate – 3,519 against Crewe last Tuesday – and more than double the best attendance so far this season, 5,120 against Portsmouth in August.

With fans likely to drink before and after the match, publicans are anticipating a mid-week boost to trade.

The Beehive in Warwick Road is the nearest pub to the ground.

Duty manager Jonathan Graham said: “We expect to be very busy. We will have extra staff on duty as we do on any match day but this will be different. We won’t be letting away fans in.”

Tottenham have sold their allocation of 1,400 tickets. The fixture has a particular allure to those Spurs fans who like to visit as many opposition grounds as possible.

The clubs last met in the same competition, then called the League Cup, over two legs in 1997. Spurs won the first leg at White Hart Lane 3-2 then cemented an aggregate victory with a 2-0 win at Brunton Park.

The attendance that night was 13,571.

Despite the big crowd expected tomorrow, police are treating the match as less of a potential flash point than the recent Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie against Preston North End.

They mounted a “high-visibility policing and security operation” for that game, which passed off without incident.

Chief Inspector Kevin Greenhow will be commanding the policing operation for the Tottenham clash.

He said: “As always, we will be working closely with the club and local partners to ensure that the game can be enjoyed by all spectators and that the arrangements cause the minimum of disruption to others in the city.

“We will maintain a proportionate but visible police presence in the ground and surrounding areas to help ensure that spectators can watch and enjoy the match safely.”

Are you a Carlisle Utd-Spurs fan with divided loyalties? If you are, contact reporter James Johnston on 01228 612695.

First published at 11:27, Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk