Steve McKimm has told his Cray Valley players to enjoy their dream FA Cup First-Round tie at Charlton.

McKimm’s Isthmian South East side make the short trip to the Valley to face the League 1 Addicks tomorrow (5.30pm), with the match live on BBC2.

It’s a draw that’s captured the imagination, with the clubs just a few miles apart on the map but worlds apart in terms of size, stature and history.

The Addicks won the FA Cup in 1947 and spent seven successive seasons in the Premier League between 2000 and 2007, achieving a best finish of seventh in 2004.

Cray Valley only won promotion to the Isthmian League in 2019, the same season they finished runners-up in the FA Vase final at Wembley.

There are Addicks fans on the Cray Valley board plus a nice link in Kevin Lisbie, the striker who played for both clubs and whose son Kyrell is having a season to remember as a goalscoring wideman for the Millers.

Everything’s set up for a day to remember and boss McKimm, who took charge in the summer after leaving Carshalton, wants his men to make the most of it.

“It’s four miles from our ground to their ground, so it’s a local derby in terms of distance but obviously in leagues we’re miles apart,” said McKimm.

“It’s a good occasion and it catches the eye with where it is and who it is.

“I’m over the moon for the club, the players and the staff because it will be a great day out.

“We could have drawn another Football League side away, which would have been good.

“But to get Charlton, ex-Premier League, former FA Cup winners and the most local club to us in terms of the Football League, it’s a dream come true for everyone.

“You’re going there to enjoy the day.

“We’ve worked hard leading up to the game, without thinking about the game, and that’s testament to the players because we’ve had three games in between and they’ve been told to just concentrate on the game we’ve got.

“That’s what we’ve done and then after we played Chatham (2-0 FA Trophy win last Saturday), we said to them enjoy whatever comes your way.

“Whether it’s press interviews, whatever you get, embrace it, take the day in and enjoy the occasion.

“I’ve never been to Charlton, so it’ll be a first for me.

“Myself and the staff have worked hard to prepare the players but the players are the stars of the show.

“They’re the ones who go and perform.

“Week in, week out, whatever team we’ve put out there, or whatever players have come on to enhance what we’re doing, they get the plaudits and deservedly so.

“In terms of going to Charlton, we want to compete but we want to go and enjoy it.”

Cray Valley are unbeaten in Isthmian South East and have reached the FA Trophy Second Round, to go with their FA Cup exploits.

Despite that, they survive on small crowds at their Artic Stadium home ground.

McKimm hopes the exposure of playing Charlton will help change that - and they will certainly be well-backed in the Jimmy Seed Stand at the Valley - along with the added bonus of appearing on national TV.

“We’ve sold about 1,200 tickets, which is good for our club because normally we only get 100-150 at home games,” said McKimm, who worked as an ITV pundit on the televised Sheppey v Walsall tie last night.

“The aim is to try and get ones that go to this game to come and support us more because a lot of people probably won’t know who we are or what we do or what we’re about.

“Hopefully this will open up more fans’ eyes to Cray Valley.

“The fact it’s on TV is something else for the players, myself and the staff to really enjoy.

“We’ve all got our families going but for people who can’t make it, in terms of relatives on the players’ side and our side, at least they get to see the game on TV.

“It’s something these boys may never get again but if you don’t, at least you can say you’ve been on the TV, you’ve hopefully given a good account of yourselves and you didn’t shy away from the challenge.”

McKimm spent eight years at Tonbridge in his first managerial role.

Angels won promotion to National League South, reached the First Round of the FA Cup for the first time in 48 years and went on their best-ever FA Trophy run, reaching the last 16 in his final season in charge.

A year at Carshalton followed before a call out of the blue from Cray Valley secretary Jason Taylor, with the Millers looking for a successor to Tommy Osborne.

McKimm’s time with the Millers could hardly have got off to a better start.

“I knew no one there,” he said.

“I got a phone call from Jason, I had a chat with them and next thing they offered me the job.

“I’ve come in and they’ve been so supportive.

“We’ve tried to change the outlook of the club on the playing side to try and make it a little bit more professional and the boys have bought into it and the club are embracing what we’re doing as well.

“At the moment there’s a feelgood factor because of what we’ve done and I’m sure it’ll continue because what they want is similar to when I was first at Tonbridge, which is the best for the club, make sure the players are happy, make sure the management’s happy and the club runs smoothly.

“It’s got a different mentality to probably what it had and that’s nothing against previous managers.

“I’ve got my own way behind the scenes - not just on the pitch - of how things are done and if I can do the same as I did at Tonbridge, I’ll be happy, the club will be happy and the players will be happy.”