This weekend, Deal Town boss Steve King achieves a managerial ambition to manage in the Isuzu FA Trophy as Danny Kedwell’s Ashford United provide the opposition at the Charles Ground in the club’s first Trophy tie in 50 years. 

Not since 1974 has the name of Deal Town played in the competition, and that is only because of the Championship run the club enjoyed in the SCEFL Premier last season. 

Reflecting on his side’s start as an Isthmian League side, King told KSN, “We are certainly pleased with the start to the season picking up three wins out of four, having been promoted has been good; it has got points on the board and kept the confidence going. 

“We have had disappointments by losing to Haywards Heath in the FA Cup and Ramsgate in the League, to go out of the Cup is always frustrating, the game against Ramsgate was a great day for the Club with a massive crowd and we actually played quite well.

“Disappointed not to have got any points out of that game, so yes, it has been a good start, but we are not getting carried away and there are still a lot of areas where we can get better!

“If you would have offered the results we have had before we started, I would have been delighted, the important thing for us so far is winning both away games!

“Our away form last year was exceptional, and I think the big question when you get promoted is knowing that the away games are always going to be tough, could we continue to pick up points away from home when we know that we will always be reasonably strong at home as the Charles Ground is a difficult place to come and we have great support.

“To win the first two away games at Broadbridge and East Grinstead that has been pleasing and we have points on the board.” 

Saturday will see the Club’s first FA Trophy campaign in half a century, and the manager cannot wait.

“There won’t be many people at the game who will have seen Deal play in the FA Trophy before,” King said smiling.

“In these competitions, you normally want to play sides that are not in your League, certainly when we were in the SCEFL we wanted to avoid other SCEFL sides in the Vase, but everyone in our League is new to us!

“We have not played Ashford in a competitive game for many years since I was first at the Club, it is another Kent derby, another home game and should be another good crowd, and we follow that with Margate at Hartsdown on Tuesday making two big Kent derbies in a week!

“We are excited by every game we’re going to enjoy it; Ashford have had a really good start in the FA Cup and assembled an experienced squad and I would imagine that from an outsider’s point of view they will start the game as favourites, but we will be looking to continue our decent performances and see where that takes us.” 

A reason that the Deal boss loves the competition so much was revealed to KSN after our interview had finished. As a school boy back in the late 1990s, a young King won a penalty competition at Dover Athletic to win a place in a second shoot out on the hallowed Wembley turf under the “old” Twin Towers at half-time in the Trophy Final that year between Cheltenham Town – who had just won promotion to the Football League – and Southport; King didn’t admit to us if he won it or not though!