We've just broken record after record this year for certain things, says Lordswood boss Jason Lillis

LORDSWOOD boss Jason Lillis says his players are grounded as they prepare for the club’s historic FA Carlsberg Vase Third Round clash against Southend Manor on Saturday.

The Medway outfit have not reached this stage of the competition before in their history and excitement is building ahead of their clash against their Essex Senior League opponents.

Southend Manor cross the Dartford crossing sitting in eleventh-place in the Essex Senior League, with three wins and six draws from their fourteen league outings.

Lillis admits his sixth-placed Kent League side are relishing the favourites tag as they bid to go on and reach the national stage of the competition, the last 32.

The former Gillingham and Maidstone United ace says his side have pulled off two upsets to get this far, but he doesn’t want their run in the competition to end on Saturday afternoon.

“Obviously going to Thame and getting a result against a very good side, but obviously we’ve done that twice now.  Egham were a very good side as well as Beckenham found out during the week. We’ve gone away and beaten them.”

Egham Town, who presently lead the Combined Counties League came away from Beckenham’s Eden Park Avenue ground with a 6-1 win in the second round of the Surrey Senior Cup on Tuesday night.

“We’ve had two very good results in the Vase so hopefully we can make it a third one on the trot,” added Lillis.

Lillis revealed that team morale going into the club’s biggest ever game in their history is good.

He said: “We’ve been quite relaxed, obviously we don’t want to go above our station. We just get on and crack on and do what we have to do and get on with our business.

“After Saturday, after we won at Canterbury, on Sunday morning that’s when we’ve started preparing and the boys have been excited since Sunday morning.

“We’ve had them watched, again they’re an attacking side so we have to be on our guard when they go forward, just that we need to deal with their strengths.

“At the end of the day I think at this level it’s whoever plays well on the day and hopefully it’s us.

“We’ve just broken record after record this year for certain things and this is a great one for our club and a great one for our little town so we’re looking for as much support as we can this weekend.

“It’s going to be our biggest game of the season without a doubt.”

When asked how the game will be won, Lillis replied, “We’ve just got to cancel out their strengths and I think if we’re on our day I think we might have a good chance.

“We’re the favourites, we’re 11 to 10 on.  Things like that doesn’t bother me to be fair. We were the underdogs for the last two games so I don’t take that into any consideration really.

“All I want us to do is put on a good performance and hopefully come away with a win.”

But recent signing, left-winger, Greg Benbow, a new addition from their Kent League rivals VCD Athletic, misses the game because he is cup-tied.

“We’ve been looking for a left sided player for most of the year and he’s become available and we took the chance in signing him,” said Lillis.

Meanwhile, the club have confirmed their admission prices for this game - £6 (adults), £3 (concessions) and £1 (under 18s).

Visit Lordswood’s website: www.lordswoodfc.co.uk

Lordswood  v  Southend Manor
The FA Carlsberg Vase Third Round
Saturday 8^th December 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Martyn Grove, North Dane Way, Walderslade, Chatham, Kent ME5 8YE