Among the thousands in the crowd cheering Ebbsfleet on at Wembley on Saturday will be current Gillingham manager Mark Stimson.

After winning the FA Trophy for the last three seasons, twice with Grays and last year with Stevenage, the 40-year-old knows all about the magic and glory of the competition.

Stimson became the first manager to lift a trophy at the new Wembley stadium, when his side came from two goals down to beat Kidderminster 3-2 in last year’s final and he sees parallels in Liam Daish’s side to his own Trophy winning team.

Stimson said: "I like Liam Daish a lot. He's an honest person and he's got a similar squad to what I had at Stevenage.

"There are two or three players in that team who wouldn"t look out of place possibly in League 1 or League 2. If they perform on the day, I'm sure that will be enough to beat an experienced Torquay side.

"Ebbsfleet are similar to Dagenham who won the Conference last year – very in your face, fit, young and hungry and it takes you a long way in football. I hope it takes them far enough to run around with that Trophy."

Read the full interview in a 12-page souvenir supplement, free with this week's Gravesend Messenger and Dartford Messenger.