With a day out at Wembley being potentially closer than it has ever been for Braintree Town fans, chairman Lee Harding is hoping that they come out in force to cheer their team further along the road on Saturday.

The Iron will be hosting Ebbsfleet United at the Miles Smith Stadium in the last 16 of the FA Trophy (kick-off 3pm) and after a run of six wins from their last eight games, hopes are high of them making it into the quarter-finals.

Should they do that, it would be Braintree’s furthest-ever progress in the competition and Harding would love the people of Braintree to come out in numbers to really make their home advantage count.

He said: “We are three wins away from Wembley and that would be a remarkable achievement for the club when you consider where we’ve come from over the last ten years.

“We are at home and that is all you can ask for.

“We will try to use it to our advantage.

“Getting into the last eight for the first time in our history won’t be easy, but we anticipate a good crowd and we have to be confident."