Larkfield & New Hythe are full of confidence going into their FA Cup first qualifying round tie at home to Cray Wanderers.

Boss Danny Lye sees no reason why his Southern Counties East Premier Division side can’t upset the Isthmian Premier Wands at New Hythe Lane this Saturday (3pm).

The Larks made their FA Cup debut this season and, having won two ties already, they want to continue the journey.

Lye, a former Cray player, said: “There’s no pressure, is there?

“Cray will be a good test but we don’t fear anyone.

“We’re a good, solid side, we’ve got a good squad, and we’ll just give it a good go.

“The FA Cup’s special, and cup runs don’t come around too often, so we want to push on and beat Cray and see who we get in the next round.

“It’s brought good attention to the club, we’ve been breaking records for the club and every game is a new landmark.

“We want to keep building on that.”

With Larkfield’s FA Vase tie against Selsey called off at the weekend, they took the chance to watch Cray, attending their 3-1 home defeat by Lewes.

The Wands lost again on Monday, beaten 2-1 at Dulwich, while unbeaten Larkfield have taken seven points from nine in their league.

Lye said: “We’ll see for sure how much of a gap there is on Saturday.

“They’ve got some good players but they’re not having the best run and our boys are full of confidence.

“We’ve got a very good core and other than Luke Russell, everyone is 28-32, which is a great age group.

“We’re ready for Cray. I played for them as well and it’s always nice to play against one of your old clubs.”

Lye has fond memories of the FA Cup, having reached the first round proper with Gravesend & Northfleet in 2001.

They even took the lead at Huddersfield before losing 2-1 to a last-minute goal from on-loan Chelsea man Leon Knight.

“I was only young and I got man-of-the-match,” said Lye.

“This is what I’ve said to the boys, make sure you enjoy it and get as far as possible because they’re great memories to have.”

While the FA Cup is a bonus, Larkfield & New Hythe have big ambitions in the SCEFL Premier.

Lye and assistant manager Mickey Phillips led them to promotion via the Division 1 play-offs in their first full season in charge.

But there are no thoughts of consolidation in their first year up - they’re setting their sights on reaching the Isthmian League.

“There’s a good infrastructure at the club,” said Lye, who played with Phillips at Maidstone.

“They got us in and me and Mickey put our necks on the line and said we’d get you promoted in our first full season and build on it.

“In the summer, I said the club’s going to grow dramatically now.

“I badgered the chairman to give me the budget I wanted to be competitive in the SCEFL Prem.

“He gave us that, and we’ve put a great side together.

“I think we’re strong enough to win the league, to compete with the likes of Faversham, so we’re going to do our best to get promoted out of this league.

“Anyone who knows me and Mickey knows we want to win.

“We’ve had quite successful playing careers, getting promoted and winning stuff, and we’ve put that mentality and team spirit into the squad and the club’s functioning with very good belief.”