After breaking their losing league run last weekend, Gillingham embark on “The Road to Wembley” on Saturday as an old favourite returns to Priestfield in the opposition manager’s seat as Mark Bonner’s side look to create an upset against a former winner of the FA Cup.

The “Matthews Final” of 1953 saw Blackpool beat Bolton Wanderers and give Sir Stanley Matthews an FA Cup winner’s medal in one of the most famous Finals the competition has ever seen.

Move forward to the present day, and the 2024 Seasiders make the long trip to Kent for this season’s First Round with Gills legend Steve Bruce in the manager’s chair in what will be bizarrely a rare Priestfield return for the man who played over 200 times in Gillingham blue in the early 1980s. 

Not that the current Gills boss will need much motivation in a competition which he clearly loves as he told KSN this week; “I was at last year’s Final – United v City – and really loved it!”

“When the “good stuff” starts in the Cup, it is good isn’t it? And if you can be involved with a Club that gets on a run, then it really is amazing – I have always said that the FA Cup is about two things really for a lower league Club, money and memories and if you get both you have had a really good year in the competition.”

“The prize money on offer is big – the big lucrative replays have gone now which means a favourite memory won’t be repeated as at my previous Club, Cambridge, we drew 0-0 at home with Manchester United and had a replay at Old Trafford which was epic – created so many memories and a huge amount of money for the Club.”

“That now has gone as there are no replays, but in the previous season we won at Newcastle – winning at St James’ Park; what a day.”

“You can have so many career highlights in this competition if you can get through a few rounds, but that is the hard bit, getting through the first two rounds and then hope that the luck of the draw falls your way!” 

“Let’s see if we can start another run on Saturday as that will certainly be the aim and the intention to be in Monday’s Second Round draw is what we will be aiming for!” 

“I’ve never managed against Steve Bruce before – we have lived in different worlds and has had a much better career than mine!” the Gills boss admitted, “He’s not someone who I have come across.”

“I have worked with Colin Calderwood as his assistant and Colin worked with Steve at (Aston) Villa and with Stephen Clemence so there’s a bit of a network there of people who know people… but what a career he has had and since going to Blackpool they have had a surge and I think he got manager of the month.”

“But they have had a bit of a struggle recently, but their squad is really good and I am sure that they will be one of many teams in League One this year pushing for Play Off places, and much like us, they will probably see this weekend as a “nice” break from the League pressures and a chance for them to get a result that they have not had for a while, just like ourselves.” 

“It is difficult to know how a team approaches the game in terms of how many changes they might make, but I have played against them and know a lot of their players really well, so know that they have a really good squad and whichever eleven they pick, we know that they are going to be a very strong, athletic team – they are very good at the level they play at, but at the same time, we believe there are ways that we can counter that, cause them problems.”

“We’ve had games this season against Clubs from higher levels and we have seen their levels and the challenge of that and it’s another good opportunity for us to test ourselves against players from that level.”

“We will have to be at very high level ourselves to compete and that is what the FA Cup does this weekend – there will be shed loads of surprises and hopefully we will be one of them!” 

Bonner confirmed that keeper Glenn Morris is back fully fit and available for selection for the weekend although the Club’s other walking wounded are possibly still a couple of weeks away from contention.