Gary Breen shares memories of playing for Maidstone United and Coventry City as sides prepare to meet in FA Cup fifth round and reveals George Elokobi’s secret talent at Wolves

Two of the most important clubs in Gary Breen’s career meet in the FA Cup on Monday night.

He’ll be involved in that most unlikely of fifth-round fixtures, too, providing overseas commentary of Maidstone United’s history-making trip to Championship club Coventry City.

Breen’s links to the tie don’t end there, either, as he’s also a former team-mate of Stones manager George Elokobi - the pair playing together under Mick McCarthy at Wolves.

Centre-back Breen started his career as a 17-year-old in the first team at Maidstone in 1992 while it was Coventry where he became a Premier League player, joining the Sky Blues from Birmingham for £2.5 million in 1997.

Breen, who won 63 caps for the Republic of Ireland, joined United after turning down an apprenticeship at Charlton so he stay on at school for his A-levels.

He’d study Monday to Friday and play for the Stones on a Saturday.

He made his debut in a Division 4 goalless draw at Wrexham, the week after the Welsh club had beaten league champions Arsenal 2-1 in one of the biggest FA Cup shocks of all time.

As a go-to story, it even trumps reaching the semi-finals with Sunderland, particularly being a boyhood Gunners fan.

“I just have wonderful memories of Maidstone,” Breen told KentOnline.

“That was one tough learning curve for a young player, playing in that group. It was a tough, uncompromising dressing room.

“When people talk about the Crazy Gang at Wimbledon, I’d argue that dressing room I went into at Maidstone was a particularly difficult one.

“There were some lads who were really good footballers but were playing at that lower end because they maybe weren’t the most professional bunch in the world.

“I’d be doing my A-levels and I’d go and meet up on a Saturday, which