As our exclusive series of interviews with the men who have taken Tunbridge Wells to the FA Carlsberg Vase Final at Wembley on Saturday near its conclusion, we talk to skipper Jason Bourne.

Here to a man who the whole of Kent football will be hoping that is walking up the steps to the Royal Box to collect the trophy for his home town club at the end of the game; the Tunbridge Wells captain.

It’s been three weeks since Tunbridge Wells won through to the Vase Final, and three weeks that Jason will never forget! “It’s still a bit bizarre really even though i’ts now only tomorrow!” he admitted.

“Even though I was invited to the Media Day the other week and having to go to that at Wembley, I thought it was going to sink in then. But it was an empty stadium, and even though it gives you a little feel of the pitch and the chance to look around and imagine the 10,000 plus Tunbridge Wells fans that will be there, but there was no way that you could imagine the noise or the tension or the passion that the crowd will be generating.”

“I still can’t believe that I’ll be leading my home town team out at the Venue of Legends – it’s amazing, it’s amazing and I’m so proud to lead this club anyway; to be club captain under Martin is an immensely proud thing for me to have achieved, but to lead us out at Wembley is the stuff that dreams are made of!”

“I know that everyone says that but it is – it’s where everyone who plays the game wants to play the game, which makes it even more special.”

“We’ve had fixtures coming out of our ears. At one point, it was still mathematically possible for us to challenge for the league and so we had to take games ultra seriously. But once we lost at VCD, it was time to take stock exactly what we’re facing this weekend so that the squad’s been rotated but you still want to be involved.”

“We’ve tried to get a couple of training sessions in just to work on which we’ve desperately needed to go through some things. But over all our feet haven’t touched the ground. We’ve had the Kent Senior Trophy as well of course which we won and was a brilliant day for the club but we haven’t really had a chance to take stock of what we’ve actually achieved.”

“You don’t have to be the best side on days to win games – you just have to be winners and that’s what I think we’ve got here! We’ve got a group of players who believe if it doesn’t go well on the day we’ll all dig deep, we’ll all fight for each other and get behind the ball and defend well – we’ve got players in the side who can go and win us games.”

“There’s a little bit of a club motto “Demand more from each other!” and in a positive way that’s what everyone does – if someone makes a mistake you go and lift them up, and that’s what we’ve got at the club!”

“We’ve made the last two of a national competition so we must be a good side. But we’re not silly, we know that we’re probably not THE best team in the Country but it doesn’t mean that we’re not going to go and win at Wembley – the team spirit that we’ve got; the bond that we’ve got; the way that we get people out of trouble that’s what counts on the day and when it comes to Wembley, ultimately I do believe it is what will help us go on an win the Trophy!”

It’s been a rollercoaster March to the Arch for the Wells, but what were the best bits as far as the skipper was concerned? Jason said, “For me the most exciting game on the run was the Larkhall game – it had a sending off; late goals ; we totally dominated periods and then it flicked round on its’ head and they dominated us!”

“The game just about had everything, and the europhoria from Jack’s goal right at the end was absolutely terrific. Equally to knock the holders – Dunstan – out was another great high point – and then Shildon… fair enough going three nil down in the second leg was a low point, but what a high we hit by recovering and getting into the Final.”

“Everyone enters the FA Vase thinking that there’s a chance that we might do OK, but very few actually think that they’ve got a good chance – it’s something that you talk about as a team as years go by, and that results in some teams being put on pedastals, and you think that sides like Dunstan who won the Vase last year have something special and you’re not going to be match them up.”

“But when Dunstan came to the Culvenden for the first 15 / 20 minutes running on adrenaline and once we realised that they were just another Step Five side which everyone in the competition is – and that includes Spennymoor – that’s when you start to think “hang on – we can do this!” and I think everyone now knows that Dunstan was the game when we started to think that we could go on and win the FA Vase.”

The dream of course was stretched to the very limit in the Semi Final, as Jason recalled. “In the second game against Shildon of course we had a two goal lead to defend, and I think I remember correctly that we had the first couple of the chances in the game when we should have in my eyes put the game to bed!”

“We picked up bookings early, we missed tackles, we didn’t settle – we’d said that we wanted to keep the game tight early on without conceding and when we let the first one in and then the second one shortly afterwards we really had to pull together and start again.”

“I don’t know why defending a two goal lead is so tricky to defend as if you let one in, you quite often let the second one in too and that breeds panic – and the character that we showed at two nil down and then three nil of course was immense.”

“We’re such a close bunch of boys and that must help the character – not knowing when you’re beaten and playing for each other as we’ve already said you want to get your mate out of a hole and it’s just everything that Martin’s bred into us and there’s just that never say die attitude that you only get from a friendship!”

“Martin is totally my cup of tea as a manager – the way that I’m Mr Serious when it comes to training as I like to work hard; don’t really like to mess about too much, but we all like a laugh and a giggle, and that’s what Martin does but when it comes down to the serious business, he takes no nonsense and with Brad (Sandeman) by his side with all his experience is absolutely key. For me he really is right up my street.”

“When Brad talks everyone, and I mean everyone listens as he’s been there, he’s done it and got the T shirt – he demands absolute respect which goes as a gimme. To be fair he’s what we look up to, he’s been a model pro all through his career – he brings us together in terms of his experience…”

With everything that’s happened in the past few weeks, we finished by asking Jason what he hoped – or maybe expected – from Saturday.

He said, “When we went up to Media Day, I heard a really good quote from someone that Wembley will either inspire you or intimidate you! And it is going to be the team that is inspired on the day that will come away with the Trophy.”

“That’s stuck in my head as you’ve got to get your mentality focused – you’ve got to get switched on and not get overawed with the emotion of the occasion – somehow you’ve got to take the emotion out of the day and play the game and not let the game play you.”

“I’m the luckiest man in the world as I’m leading my team out with my children – Sidney and Connor – alongside me as mascots of our home town team! And to walk up those steps as winners that’s all I’ve got in my head, and its going to take a heck of a team to stop us doing it!”

“And I’ve pictured receiving the Vase – both hands, Martin and I, with the team backing us – it really is going to be a remarkable day!”

Join us later for the last in our series of “Road to Wembley” as we speak to every member of the Tunbridge Wells squad. Last up is manager Martin Larkin….