This weekend, Deal Town go in search of a place in the Third Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup for the first time since 1997 as they welcome Egham Town to the Charles Sports Ground and manager Steve King is keen to progress.

For boss Steve King, Saturday’s Second Qualifying Round tie against the side from the Isthmian South-Central division, will only be the second time he has managed at this stage of the Greatest Cup Competition in the World.

“We got this far in my first full season back in 2015, but haven’t been this far since,” King told KSN this week as we spoke to him after his side had been beaten on penalties by Sittingbourne in the Kent Senior Cup.

“We lost to St Albans that day so it’s the first time in ten years – I was a lot less grey then and a lot less stressed! We have been considered as a Cup team by a lot of people – not an FA Cup team as I always say after Christmas, we are better!”

“It is something that we targeted at the start of the season especially when the draws came out! Our first two rounds we avoided the “big hitters” so had a chance and to the get two home draws is great!” 

“Saturday will be a big game for the Club – a tough game – but for a Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, it’s certainly a game that we think we can win.”

“If someone had offered me after beating Crowborough in the last round, a draw and a game in which we are likely to be favourites – there wasn’t many of those when you look at the teams still left in the hat – of course I would have taken it.”

“I think we are two evenly matched sides and if we were away, they would be favourites, but home advantage I would think would mean that most people now make us slight favourites and that gives us a realistic chance of progressing.”

“For us it’s not just about getting through, the financial rewards of getting through for a self-sufficient club, it would really help us running the Club and developing the youth section and all the things we are trying to do. It really is a big day for the Club on Saturday…” 

“I have done this job a long time and every game is important to me, and I only started prepping after the Sittingbourne game on Tuesday. We have some videos and our analysis team working on things and certainly come three o’clock and kick-off on Saturday we will be ready to go!” 

“We made eight changes on Tuesday, and I was delighted by what we showed with a young side. To be honest in the second half I thought we had the better chances with a sixteen-year-old and an eighteen-year-old.”

“The league has been disappointing so far but I’ve been around long enough to know that we have played four League games and have played Sittingbourne, who I think will win the League, Faversham away who were outstanding and have had a very strong start to the season, Merstham who were in the Play Offs last year… I have been around long enough not to start panicking and I am pretty confident that once we get ten or twelve games in and have played a range of teams that our League position will look better!”

“This early in the season you can get carried away – of course I would prefer to have more points, don’t get me wrong, but I am not hitting the panic button just yet!”