The FA Cup first round draw takes place tonight - a cup competition Gillingham boss Neil Harris can get excited about.

Harris has recently spoken publicly about his lack of interest in the EFL Trophy but the FA Cup is a competition he’s got plenty of love for.

“I really like that competition,” he said. “I have had great success as a manager in it, some big giant-killings, obviously I was fortunate enough to play in a cup final myself and it is a brilliant competition.

“It’s one we will take absolutely 100% seriously, I will play my best team I possibly can whoever we play against and I want to win the cup!”

Harris - along with his Gills assistant David Livermore - played for Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup final, losing out to Manchester United, who won the match 3-0 with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and two-goal Ruud van Nistelrooy.

As manager of Millwall, he also took them to the quarter-finals of the competition in 2016/17, his then-League 1 outfit beating Premier League sides Bournemouth, Watford and Leicester City on the way before losing 6-0 to Tottenham.

One game to forget, perhaps, was the first round exit as a player for the Gills when they lost 3-2 at non-league Burscough in 2005.

The final qualifying round of the FA Cup took place over the weekend, with Ebbsfleet United the only Kent team seeing their way through to the first round proper, thanks to a win over Sevenoaks.

Folkestone Invicta missed out on a place in the first round after losing to Merthyr Town while Maidstone United lost to lower-league Needham Market.

Qualifying teams are joined by the 48 clubs from League 1 and 2 in the hat for the first round proper. The draw takes place on BBC 2 and the FA’s social media channels at around 7.15pm. Gillingham are ball no.21 in the hat.

Matches take place over the weekend of Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6. Winning clubs in the first round will receive £41,000.

Premier League teams and clubs in the Championship enter at the third round stage.

Gillingham lost to Cheltenham in a first round replay last season, a match played out under the shadow of an approach from League 2 Stevenage for their then-manager Steve Evans.

An 11th-minute goal won it 1-0 for Cheltenham after the first match at Priestfield had finished 1-1. The Gills lost at Priestfield to lower-league Exeter City in the second round of the 2020/21 competition.