Daish determined to enjoy his Wembley day out

Liam Daish was spotted taking photographs of Wembley Stadium when a tour arranged for the FA Trophy finalists took in the upper tier of the stadium.

Daish, the manager of the Ebbsfleet United side who play Torquay United on May 10, gazed down from high on the turf and said: “It’s something else, isn’t it?”

This from a man who played at the stadium before it was redeveloped. “Yes I have good memories,” he said. “I lifted the Auto Windscreens Shield trophy when I was captain of Birmingham City - but I think it’s only as you grow older that you come here and start really to appreciate it. It’s not quite the same when you are a player - I’ll appreciate the day more than anyone.”

Daish, 39, has come through a season the like of which no manager has experienced before, with Ebbsfleet having been taken over by the MyFootballClub website. The full impact of the concept of team selections being carried out online will not be felt until next season after the manager asked for - and gained - full control of playing matters up until the Wembley final.

“We’ve had some interesting days,” Daish said. “There’s been a lot of media coverage and a lot of questions asked and answered. What’s good about reaching the Trophy final is that it’s purely about football and what the players have done. It’s nice to be interviewed for football reasons rather than stuff that I don’t really have a say in. It’s days like this I want to get involved in as a manager and a coach.”

Daish was accompanied to Wembley by Paul McCarthy, the club captain and central defender, who is the player most likely to share his manager’s feelings about the occasion.

As a 19-year-old McCarthy travelled as a non-playing member of the Brighton and Hove Albion squad in 1991 that lost to Notts County in a first division play-off final. McCarthy was happy to assume that there would be other times when he would play at Wembley. Now, at 36, at long last, there will be.

Daish said: “It’s a great achievement for him. He’s coming to the end of his career and will have a day for himself and his family that will stay with him for ever.”

The rest of Ebbsfleet squad were being fitted with their Wembley suits at Bluewater. Of the many youngsters, the one who would be most forgiven for pinching himself at the prospect of playing at Wembley would be John Akinde.

The forward will not turn 19 until July and was playing for Whitstable Town in the Kent League before being deemed ready by Daish to be unleashed upon the Blue Square Premier. He swiftly proved that he has the potential to become an outstanding player.

Win or lose against Torquay, Daish will be back the following Saturday. “I’ll be back with my home-town club, Portsmouth,” he said. “Portsmouth fans can’t get enough of Wembley. The big four might be a bit blase about appearing here, but nobody else is. I’ll be part of Harry’s blue-and-white army.”

WALTER GAMMIE