Graphic: so where is Barrow?

Discovering that one of Barrow’s best players is often compared to Homer Simpson would make anyone think twice about backing them to shock Middlesbrough in their third-round tie on Saturday. The connection between Matt Henney and the rotund cartoon patriarch is not a physical resemblance or a love of doughnuts, though, but in their jobs: both work in the safety departments at nuclear power stations.

“I get Homer Simpson references all the time,” Henney said. “People think you sit in the control room with your feet up eating biscuits. Some jobs might be like that, but not mine.”

The 32-year-old midfield player works at Sellafield, the massive nuclear processing site on the west coast of Cumbria. And you can definitely trust him to read a Geiger counter and not get plutonium rods trapped in his trousers.

“I teach people how to use safety equipment — PVC suits, respirators,” he said. “There are certain ways to get dressed up. I work in classrooms and labs. I’ve been doing it for about three years and I enjoy it. Some areas are dangerous, but the majority are safe. Everything’s under control, you can’t do anything without reading a safety manual. We don’t have any incidents.”

Henney is probably more at risk from sitting in his car too long. He lives in Egremont, close to Sellafield and on the edge of the Lake District, but not convenient for his part-time career. Take November’s 390-mile journey to Eastbourne Borough in the first round. “I left home at 10am on Friday and got back at 2am on Sunday. And it was a 0-0 draw. I walked off the pitch feeling devastated,” he said.

Barrow will return to Eastbourne in the Blue Square Premier in April, soon after travelling to Torquay and Weymouth. Then there’s the matter of two evening training sessions a week, which are often held in Blackburn, a 2½-hour drive away after his 7.30am-4pm shift. “Barrow’s in the middle of nowhere as well. It takes me an hour to get there,” Henney said.

Exit the M6 near Kendal and you face another 35 miles chugging westwards along the sinuous A590 until you reach Barrow-in-Furness, an industrial port with nuclear connections — it is where the submarines carrying Trident missiles were built. “The travelling does take its toll sometimes, but it’s worth it,” Henney said. “I’m happy where I’m at.”

Henney scored in the 4-0 replay win over Eastbourne, as well as grabbing the winner in the 2-1 victory over Brentford in the second round, which set up Saturday’s match away to the Barclays Premier League side. However, he is doubtful because of a niggling back injury that he suspects was exacerbated by endless road trips — a particular worry because he has arranged for more than 50 friends and family to go to the Riverside Stadium.

“It’s not our Cup Final, it’s our World Cup final,” David Bayliss, the Barrow joint player-manager, said. He took charge at Holker Street at the end of 2007 with Darren Sheridan, who appeared in the top flight with Barnsley. They led the team to promotion to the Blue Square Premier. Average attendances have doubled to 1,685 this season and an estimated 7,000 will make the three-hour journey to Middlesbrough.

Gareth Southgate’s team are without a win in eight matches, but Barrow are also in meltdown: they are only two points above the relegation zone and have not won in the league since November 1. “We expected the lads to be buzzing and running the extra yard, but they’ve really struggled,” Bayliss said. “The Cup run has worked against us. It’s been frustrating. It’s a good distraction, but we’ve had lads not going in for tackles and it’s not been professional enough, to be honest.”

Still, there are compensations, such as a sortie to Old Trafford on Monday to scout Saturday’s opponents — a wonderful novelty, even if it may not prove profoundly useful. “They sat back and strung five across the midfield,” Bayliss said. “I can’t see them doing that against us.”

On the road from the back of nowhere

Barrow’s isolation and the number of southern clubs in the Blue Square Premier means that their supporters and players face round trips totalling more than 12,700 miles this season.

Barrow’s nearest league opponents, Altrincham, are 109 miles away. Half the teams they face are at a distance of more than 250 miles — seven of those being more than 300 miles away.

At least the traffic in Cumbria is usually manageable. William Gallas, the Arsenal defender, complained in 2006 that the 40-mile journey from his home in Surrey to the club’s training ground in Hertfordshire took 90 minutes in the mornings because of the traffic on the M25.