While Gillingham might have suffered the embarrassment of an FA Cup giant-killing, one of the club’s former youth players has been busy dishing them out.

Sean Raggett has spent his whole life living in Gillingham but moved north after signing for National League side Lincoln City in the summer.

It’s been an eventful journey for the 23-year-old central defender.

While Lincoln sit top of the table, on a quest to regain their Football League status, it’s been their heroics in the FA Cup that has caught the national attention.

Raggett helped Lincoln defeat Ipswich in the third round live on BBC TV and the Imps then stunned Championship leaders Brighton with a 3-1 win in round four.

They now travel to Premier League Burnley on Saturday aiming to do what Chelsea couldn’t last weekend. Antonio Conte’s title favourites were held to a 1-1 draw.

Raggett, a former Rainham Mark pupil, said: “It has been crazy. A lot of the fans here are a little more surprised than the players, because of how the team have finished in recent seasons, but this year we always knew we were going to have a much-better chance with the group of players we have together.

“The manager has been class and to be in the fifth round of the FA Cup and top of the league, you couldn’t ask for much more.

“Our task now is to do better than the team at the top of the Premier League. Burnley’s home form is unreal and one of the best in the league, it will be a tough ask but we will enjoy it and give it our best.”

Raggett spent a couple of years as a youth player with the Gills before joining the academy at Dover, where he progressed through to the first team.

His stand-out performances led to a summer move to Lincoln, which now means a regular commute from Medway for his parents, not that they mind.

He said: “My mum and dad come to pretty much every home and away game.

“Last season when I was at Dover they said to me that one of their favourite places to go was Lincoln, then I ended up signing for them, so they are pretty happy they get to spend a few more weekends there.

“Some of the games we have been involved in this season have been good experiences.

“I wasn’t expecting what has happened when I came here, in terms of the amount of fans we would get and getting into the fifth round and beating these big sides but it has been class.

“I got a goal against Altrincham (in an early round), which was nice but the Ipswich away game, where we drew 2-2, was my favourite.

“I had never played against a Championship side before, so I didn’t know exactly what the standard would be. To put in the performance that we did shocked everyone. We should have won.

“After that, it gave us more belief. We knew we could beat them at home (in the televised replay) and then go and get a result against Brighton.”

The FA Cup hasn’t been quite so memorable for Raggett’s home-town club, losing on TV in a replay to Brackley Town.

He said: “I did watch the game, I thought Brackley were good and Gills didn’t play that great.

“It happens every year, quite a lot. It is mad, especially for non-league sides. A lot of the top, top sides put weak sides out now but for the non-league sides likes us and Sutton (who face Arsenal in the fifth round), it has been massive."

Raggett is focused on Burnley and pulling off what would be one of the cup’s biggest ever shocks.

He said: “It’s a nice one to look forward to. The pressure is off us and no matter what happens, it is just a great experience. But we’re not going there just for the experience, we want to get a result.”

The game kicks off at 12.30pm and is live on BT Sport.