YEADING chairman Phil Spurden is no stranger to a hammer and nails. While his Newcastle counterpart, Freddy Shepherd, has spent the last fortnight thrashing out the multi-million pound signing of Jean-Alain Boumsong, Spurden has busied himself mending the bar in the corner of Yeading's social club.

But, on Monday, the former amateur league goalkeeper will spend half an hour doing a rather more momentous piece of handiwork.

With Yeading taking on Newcastle in the biggest game of their 44-year history tomorrow, Spurden has already cleared a spot on the wall of the boardroom for some photographic evidence of the match.

A snap of centre-half Nevin Saroya tussling with Craig Bellamy would go down well, or an action shot of midfielder Alex Stanley going head to head with England international Jermaine Jenas.

Maybe, though, Spurden will have something more spectacular to view. After all, Yeading wouldn't be the first non-league club with a picture of a goal against Newcastle hanging on their wall.

Last month, 'The Ding' travelled to Hendon in the Ryman Premier Division and, after the match, Spurden visited the opposition boardroom to chew the fat.

His mind was already awash with thoughts of facing the Magpies and, there on the wall, was proof of just what could be possible at Loftus Road.

"I never really thought about the prospect of a giantkilling at all until we went to play at Hendon in the middle of December," said Spurden.

"I was looking around their boardroom and, on the wall, there was a picture of their FA Cup third round game with Newcastle in 1974.

"There in glorious technicolour was a picture of Rod Haider scoring the equalising goal (the game finished 1-1) and that just made me think about what was possible.

"They (Hendon) went to a replay down at Watford and lost (4-0), but I remember those games vividly and it's great to think that something like that could happen again."

If Yeading were to achieve the unthinkable tomorrow, it would represent the biggest FA Cup shock since Conference side Sutton beat Cup holders Coventry in 1988.

That game wrote the name of Matt Hanlan into footballing folklore but, just a year earlier, Sutton had been on the wrong end of a Cup upset of their own - the giantkillers being Yeading.

"I first got involved with the football club in 1968," said Spurden. "So I've just about been there from the start. I was originally the goalkeeper before time caught up with me and I moved upstairs.

"There have been a few milestones in that time, but we've obviously had nothing as high-profile as the game against Newcastle.

"We've made it to the first round of the FA Cup twice but, in terms of the gulf in class between the two sides, there's only really one game that comes close.

"One of our biggest games was in 1986 when we were in the Spartan League. We beat Sutton 4-1 in the FA Cup third qualifying round.

"Sutton, at that time, were the really big side in this area. They were going ever so well in the Conference and nobody gave us a hope.

"Coventry won the FA Cup that year and, the following season, Sutton knocked them out. So we were the giantkillers of the giantkillers I suppose.

"We were peppered for about 48 minutes. They battered us for all of the first half and a little bit of the second.

"But we scored four in quick succession and nobody could really believe what was happening."

Similarly, nobody could really believe their eyes when the third-round draw paired Yeading with Newcastle last month.

The difference between the two clubs is staggering - Newcastle pay more to Alan Shearer in a week than Yeading pay to all their players and staff in a year - but, when the game kicks off at 1.45pm tomorrow, they will start as equals.

Whatever happens next, Spurden insists that Yeading will take nothing but happy memories from the experience.

Some have suggested that the decision to switch the game to Loftus Road has taken most of the romance out of the tie but, while Spurden would have preferred to be travelling to St James' Park, he cannot wait for a match that underlines what the FA Cup is all about.

"The first reaction from our point of view was one of absolute disbelief," he said. "None of us could believe that we were going to be playing against Newcastle.

"We'd been invited into the Sky studios after our second round win against Slough, so we were watching things unfold in there.

"It's a dream draw. From the organisational point of view, it would have been better if the balls had come out the other way round.

"But it's still a dream come true for the football club. We just keep our fingers crossed that we can give a good account of ourselves."