Needham Market are preparing for the biggest game in the club’s history in the FA Trophy fifth round on Saturday as they look to finally realise their chairman’s Wembley dream.

Keith Nunn has lauded the impact the Trophy run has had on the team and the wider town ahead of the visit of Dartford.

The Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central head into the game as underdogs against a side one step higher in the football pyramid but Nunn is confident his side can cause an upset.

“Most people have said it’s the biggest game in the club’s history,” he said.

“Financially, it should be great as we’re hoping for a big crowd. There’s more prize money at stake, another £6,000 if we win it and another step closer to Wembley.”

Nunn has watched this year’s FA Cup action closely and cites National League Boreham Wood’s victory over Championship Bournemouth last weekend as a source of inspiration.

The Marketmen defeated Yeovil Town on penalties of the FA Trophy a week after Bournemouth had overcome the same opposition in the FA Cup and Nunn believes the Cherries’ elimination demonstrates what can happen when underdogs raise their game.

“We deserved to win against Yeovil and Wealdstone, two sides we’ve beaten from the National League on this run, and both sets of directors agreed that was the case,” he said. “They weren’t flukes!”

Nunn expects around 500 to be in attendance at Bloomfields and hopes that the home support can spur them on, with a final at Wembley serving as the perfect motivation.

“It has always been my ambition to get to Wembley, not necessarily to win but to get there,” he said.

“When we were in Step 5, we got to the semi-finals of the FA Vase and lost out to AFC Fylde.

“It’s a much bigger ask to get to Wembley in the FA Trophy, with teams competing from National League level, but we’ve already beaten two Step 1 sides.

“It would be great for the fans, for the town and for the county too.”

Needham Market are one of two sides still in the competition flying the flag for the Pitching In Southern League alongside Stourbridge, who host Solihull Moors.

And in anticipation of a feverish crowd, volunteers from all over the town have offered their support to ensure Saturday’s fixture runs as smoothly as possible.

“We’ve got extra bar and food facilities in place for the game, so our catering manager has got extra help,” said Nunn, who’s side were boosted by a good luck message from Pitching In ambassador Stuart Pearce – a former teammate of Marketmen boss Kevin Horlock – prior to their trip to Yeovil.

“We’ve got mascots from some of the club’s youth teams and some of their parents have offered to help with the day.

“If we could win and go through, it would be great and it really would be great to get to Wembley.

“It’s an old adage but, as we all know, anything can happen.”

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/