Giant-killers can go all the way

Speaking ahead of their quarter-final clash with the National League outfit Torquay United at Nyewood Lane, Howell told TheFA.com that his Ryman Premier side were ready to ruffle feathers and shoot down the Gulls.

Having beaten Sutton United, Altrincham and Maidstone en route to the last eight, the former FA Youth Cup winner with Arsenal said: "Everyone is excited around the town and we feel like we have got a chance. They are a National League team and a very good team, even though they are bottom.

"When you are losing games it’s difficult, there’s no confidence in the squad. Whereas we have had a good season, we’ve won a few recently so we feel good going into this one.

“We have had a fantastic journey and beaten some good teams. Normally we do quite poorly in the Trophy, so this has been a bit of a surprise for us. But we don’t want that to end now, we want to create a few problems for Torquay and ruffle a few more feathers.”

Howell, who has made more than 400 appearances for the club and played at the national stadium as an England schoolboy, also admitted he has been finding it difficult not to dream of a long-awaited Wembley return on Sunday May 22.

“It’s human nature to think about playing at Wembley when you’ve got this far in the competition. But the realisation is we’ll have to beat Torquay and another team of a high standard to get there," said the 39-year-old. “We wouldn’t have thought we’d get here at the start of the season, but now that we are we are quietly confident. We’ve had an excellent season but we’ve won nothing yet."

He added: "It’s great for the fans. It might be a fluke if you beat teams from a higher level once or twice, but we’ve beaten a few to get here and played very well in the process."

* Tickets to the first ever Non-League Finals Day at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 22 May are on sale now - with child tickets available from just £1.

The Wembley showpiece will host both The FA Vase and FA Trophy Finals, with tickets priced at £25 for adults, £10 for concessions and £1 for U16s.

There is also a group rate of £12.50 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 for children. For more information visit TheFA.com.