Ebbsfleet will be two wins from Wembley if they can claim a third successive Conference scalp in the FA Trophy this weekend.

Jamie Day takes his side to face Braintree Town on Saturday having overseen wins against Welling and Forest Green in the last two rounds.

Hundreds of Fleet fans are travelling to Essex to see if their team can reach the quarter-finals for the first time in six years.

Progress would also represent Day’s best run in the Trophy as a manager but he is quite clear about where this competition stands in the greater scheme of things.

Ebbsfleet, eighth in Vanarama Conference South, lost 2-1 at Sutton on Saturday and Day needs his new-look team to start firing quickly – starting at Gosport next weekend.

He said: "We’ve got two weeks, in my eyes, to prepare for the league game and work with the boys.

"The Trophy, for me, is a bonus. We want to get as far as we possibly can but it might work in our favour that we’ve got the Trophy game now.

"Hopefully, we can get some good work done in the week and look forward to an FA Trophy game where we’re not expected to win – well, we might be expected to win now, I don’t know – but we can go into that and prepare ourselves for the league game the week after."

Goalkeeper Brandon Hall and defender Anthony Acheampong are available after suspension but defender Tom Bonner and forward Tyrone Marsh are cup-tied.

Read the full story in the Gravesend Messenger.