It’s FA Cup Second Round weekend and Gillingham are looking forward to being part of the eight-game show on Sunday shown on the BBC with their tie at Slough Town who are the lowest ranked side left on the March to the Arch.

Looking ahead this week, Lovell told KSN and the assembled press, “We’re preparing the same way as we would for any League game and we will go to Slough showing them complete respect as they have done very well to get to this stage of the competition.”

“And so, they’re a good side, they’re a decent side, they’re on their own pitch and they will know it better than we do, and they’ll have a good following behind them which just about completes the stack against us, I think.  We’ve got to make sure that we go there and prepare properly as if we’d be playing a League game.”

“We know what to expect and that it will be a very tough game – we’re looking forward to it very much as I’m sure they are.  It’s a competition that I love being involved in and I think every player should be.  Yes the tie’s on a 3G pitch, but everyone’s played on one – it’s not like the old days – and we’ve been training on one this week – we do know that it will be a good surface and maybe that will suit us when we try and play the ball around – it’s a tie that everyone is looking forward to and we’ll be prepared to.”

Sunday’s tie will see Lovell’s side moving onto an artificial surface. The Gills boss was playing when they were first introduced, and he recalled, “I played on the first of the artificial pitches at QPR, Preston, Oldham and Luton – there were a number around at the time and they were all hard and nothing like the ones theses days.”

“It was like playing on concrete and I remember playing there when I was at Palace and the ball just kept bouncing past you over your head – it was ridiculous!  But they’ve come a long way now – basically it’s like playing on grass with a soft underneath as well.  They want it in League football and why not?  There’s a lot of hype that perhaps it causes a lot of injuries, but don’t grass pitches too?  It’s a good surface to play on and you just have to get used to it…”

“It’s a massive incentive for both sides to get through.  It’s potential – it’s what dreams are made of and that’s what both sides are competing for – we must be realistic and I’m sure that they are as well, as after all, who knows where the winner might end up.  The rewards are massive yes – BUT, none of it matters if we don’t win on Sunday afternoon.  It’s important that everything is done properly to make sure that we’re in that hat on BBC come Monday evening.”

“The FA Cup throws up all sorts of scenarios and I’ve been involved in a few and it’s not nice as a League Club when you get beaten by Non-League opposition and so it’s something that we’ve got to make sure that we give ourselves a chance to get through to the next round.”

“If we’re on our game, then Slough will find it very difficult to beat us, but we’re not,” Lovell warned, “but if we’re not…  Things happen in football – we could have someone sent off in the first minute, you give a penalty away or go a goal or two (as we did at Hartlepool) down, so you’ve got to plan and prepare for anything really and be in the right place for the game.”

“I’ve always enjoyed the FA Cup and got to the Quarter Finals with Millwall at Luton, but have been on the other end as well.  The worst was with Gillingham when we lost at Welling years ago.  We drew 0-0 at Priestfield and then lost one nil at Park View Road – I think Damien Richardson was manager – and that wasn’t nice.”

“Make no mistake, it’s not a nice feeling, but then it’s no different to normally losing a game.  In the FA Cup, it just stops you getting through to the next round regardless of who you’re playing and if you lose, you lose.  But if you look at the reactions to our players after winning at Bristol on Tuesday, then that’s what you play football for.”

“The work that they put in Tuesday night to get that result and what it meant to them is what winning is all about.  I said to them afterwards how proud I was of them and pleased for them because they’ve never once moaned about anything or given up and kept going and we believe in each other as a group.  And there’s long way to go in this season, but that win on Tuesday shows, I think, that we can go a long way this season.”

It was the last tie out of the velvet bag, and of course nearly all the so-called experts expect that if the Gills simply turn up, they’ll take their place in Round Three – a view that the manager doesn’t agree with.

“I don’t care what people say or think that they’re going to win anyway – let’s just win the game.  We win, we win – people might expect it, but I’m not expecting anything, except to go out there and give everything we can and if we do that, we win and it will be a good win, and I don’t care what anyone says – it’ll be a good win, but we’ve got to be on our best.”

“The win on Tuesday gave everyone around the football club a lift, as the performances, despite not getting the results, haven’t been that bad recently and the way they got the result on Tuesday was first class and has lifted everybody – a Cup run will be great, as it means we will have won on Sunday and that’s another win to take into the League games that come thick and fast into Christmas, and then the Third Round in January.”

And so, to the all-important squad news, and the Gills boss said, “Regan (Charles-Cook) trained Thursday and I’m hopeful he’ll be involved, Dean (Parrett) and his dead leg is improving, whilst we’ll monitor Gabby (Zakuani) with his back and his muscle spasm that forced him off the other night.”

“With a lot of games coming up between now and Christmas, he might be the only one that we have to protect and be careful with him, but apart from that, everyone should be fit and OK to be involved.”

“Callum Reilly, we believe, is suspended for this game, but there are new rules in place this year and so we’ll have to double check with the powers that be.  Whatever happens, the options are there – we’ll see how we train Friday and Saturday and see how we start on Sunday.”

Coverage of Slough Town v Gillingham can be found on BBC1 from 1:50 on Sunday afternoon as part of “FA Cup Final Score”.