HAMWORTHY United are one step away from Wembley, with the Hammers gearing up for the biggest game in the club’s history.

This afternoon they take on Newport Pagnell Town in the FA Vase semi-final, fully aware of what is up for grabs if they can make it eight wins from eight games in the national competition.

Hammers boss Tim Sills is no stranger to Wembley, after having been involved in four trips to the home of football during his playing career.

Whilst he was not included in the match-day squad when Stevenage lost to Barrow underneath the famous arch in the FA Trophy final in 2009/10, Sills has more Wembley memories than most footballers.

The former striker etched himself into the folklore of Torquay United when he scored the second goal in a 2-0 Wembley win against Cambridge United in the 2009 Conference playoff final.

He also featured for the Gulls in the 2008 FA Trophy final, before another visit with Gosport in the same competition in 2014.

When asked by the Daily Echo how he was feeling ahead of the tie, Sills replied: “I’m alright at the moment!

“We’re fully prepared, so, yeah, I feel okay at the moment.

“I think naturally you're going to put a bit more pressure on yourself further through the competition you get.

“I think that started when we played Glebe, and it was a case of making a bit of club history at that point as well.

“Then I think we settled down a bit after that. It's a great competition to be involved in, but yes, the ultimate prize of playing at Wembley, of course, leads to a bit of pressure, so it may well be who deals with that best.

“I think the background I've got makes it okay in terms of I've played in high pressure games, played in semifinals, finals, all that sort of thing.

“It helps in terms of how to approach it as a manager. It's obviously a bit different because I'm not just focusing on my own job, I'm focusing on a lot more than that.

“It's very much a case of the more prepared we are, the more comfortable I can feel, which I believe we've done some really good preparation again for this game.

“And so for me, obviously, the bigger games are where you might get a little bit more nervous, but very much trusting in what we've done up into to this point and the whole season and tomorrow can be no different.”

The last time a Dorset club lifted the Vase was back in 1992, when Wimborne Town lifted the trophy at the old Wembley.

Manager of the Magpies that day, Alex Pike, took Gosport and Sills to Wembley in 2014. Pike will be in attendance, with Sills hopeful his old manager will prove a good luck charm.

Sills added: “I know Alex Pike's up there tomorrow doing a bit of commentary. Last time we were in a semifinal together, it didn't end too badly. So hopefully he brings us a bit of luck as well!”

After victory over Southall in the previous round, Sills shared a remarkably candid message in regards to his mental health, and how football acted as “catharsis”.

When asked if football was a release, Sills replied: “100 per cent. I think it's a great distraction at times.

“If it's not going well, it can be the opposite way.

“It can be a bad distraction to have as well.

“That’s just the nature of the beast. But that's why we love the sport.

“The fact that it does give you those emotional highs and emotional lows.

“I’m very much of the philosophy that when the lows do happen, try not to take it too much to heart.

“And when the highs do happen, you've really got to enjoy them because it's very much a case of there are always going to be more lows, naturally, in a football career and we've been riding the crest of a wave all season and it's been a great distraction to have.”