Non-league clubs can dare to dream because they sometimes come true, declares Paul Leary, chairman of Emirates FA Cup giantkillers Marine.
“What we have achieved shows anything is possible, and the FA Cup dream is always there,” he said.
Marine is only the second team ever from the eighth tier to reach the third round – Chasetown were the other 13 years earlier – as they play hosts to Premier League leaders Tottenham on Sunday, January 10.
It is the second time Marine have reached the third round, the other time was 28 years ago when they lost to Crewe.
Mr Leary, who has been on Marine’s board of directors since 1978, can remember the other occasion when they were joined by non-league sides Yeovil and Marlow who lost to Tottenham and Arsenal in the third round.
He said: “Our game was postponed so we were in the fourth-round draw which caused a lot of excitement.
“Nick Collins from Sky had a direct link with our manager Roly Howard and asked him about possibly drawing Blackburn Rovers as he was their manager Kenny Dalglish’s window cleaner.
“And we couldn’t believe it when Marine or Crewe were drawn to play Blackburn though, sadly, we never made it that far.”
Mr Leary added he had seen research which revealed an average non-league team reaches the first round once every 25-30 years and the third round once in a lifetime, an indication as to how special this has been for Marine.
He pointed out Marine’s exploits – they have come through seven rounds to reach this stage – have gone global as well as viral with requests from worldwide media.
He said: “This year has been so dreadful for the world with the pandemic that little Marine drawing Spurs in the FA Cup is a fantastic story.
“It has captured the attention of the world and, after the draw was made, my phone exploded. I received a call from Australia at 11.50pm the night of the draw and five minutes later live on air.
“We have had messages from all over the world. That is the magic of the FA Cup and never more so than Marine v Spurs, the best experience of how magical it is.”
Marine have also made more than £100,000 from the cup run and that figure is rising.
Mr Leary added that Marine were also rewarded for sticking with manager Neil Young following their relegation from Northern Premier League, premier division in 2019.
He said: “It was the first time we had been relegated in the NPL and we decided to keep Neil which has been proven to be the right decision.
“I would say we have the best squad since we last reached the third round in 1992. But with all the pressure this year from Covid, it makes this run even more special.”