Kentish Football 
Maybe we'll have our day, maybe our day is this year, but let's get past Sutton first - Neil Smith
The Ravens go into the Second Qualifying Round clash at Gander Green Lane on the back of three successive wins in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South and as a result the Hayes Lane outfit have climbed up to tenth-place in the table.
Sutton United, meanwhile, welcome Bromley sitting in second-from-bottom in the table – but 40-year-old Smith insists league form goes out of the window in the World’s Greatest Cup Competition.
He said: “We are looking forward to it. We know it’s going to be very, very competitive with some of the players that they’ve got in that team.
“It’s going to be a tough game away from home, it always is down there and with their history in The FA Cup.”
Smith, who is Mark Goldberg’s number two, has praised the players following their league wins over AFC Hornchurch, Bath City and Truro City that has put the club on 11 points from 8 games and are unbeaten at Hayes Lane.
“The boys have worked extremely hard to get us out of that situation we were in at the beginning of the season,” added Smith, who celebrates his next birthday in ten days’ time.
“It’s a new game. It’s the FA Cup and you can’t go on form actually in these sort of games as it’s a Cup one-off.
“I think it’s a great game for the boys. I think it will be a nice crowd there. You’d rather play in those games than an empty stadium.
“We do know it’s going to be a tough game. Where they are in the League and where they expect to be with the players that they’ve got - you go through their team on paper and they’ve got an extremely good side.
“We know it’s going to be a difficult contest but the boys are flying at the moment and hopefully we can keep that confidence going.”
Smith says hard work has ensured Bromley have turned the corner in the last three weeks.
“It’s down to the boys,” he said, “they’ve worked hard for this and they’ve been working hard all the way through since pre-season.
“We weren’t getting the rub of the green or a bit of luck but through hard work you sometimes get that.
“Three clean sheets’ in three games as well is very pleasing and we’ve scored six goals as well. It’s been good but we’re not going to rest on our laurels.”
Bromley reached the FA Cup First Round last season after doing it the hard way by beating Welling United, Margate and Dartford in the qualifying rounds before going down to a 3-0 defeat away to Leyton Orient.
Bromley took 1,689 supporters to Brisbane Road last November but the ones who stayed loyal to the club saw their heroes suffer from a dip in form and they only just escaped relegation by two points.
“Again, we’re starting with a hard game like Welling last year, Sutton away this year, so it’s never easy,” said Smith.
“It would be lovely to have a Cup run as well, just for the finances for the club as it helps everyone out and gives the supporters, especially last season, a fantastic day out.
“We’re just looking at this game at the moment. It’s going to be a tough one and we have to be right on our ball to get a result.”
When asked how his side will beat Sutton United on Saturday, Smith replied, “Hopefully we don’t lose. It’s going to be winning those second balls. They’re very competitive and very good at set-plays and we’ve got to look out for them.
“Likewise when we get a set-play we have to take our chance.”
Sutton United stunned top-flight Coventry City 2-1 in the FA Cup Third Round back in January 1989, courtesy of goals from Tony Rains and Matt Hanlan in front of a crowd of 8,000 at Gander Green Lane.
Smith would like Bromley - who have never beaten a Football League club in the FA Cup – to experience the same thing that Sutton United did all those years’ ago.
He said: “Maybe we’ll have our day, maybe our day is this year, but let’s get past Sutton first.
“It’s so difficult because you live that dream. You want to be that club. We only talked about it the other day, what would happen if we got through to the third round?
“But what we can’t do is forget about the league, like we did last season.
“We’ve got to make sure we concentrate on both fronts and it would be lovely for the supporters.”
Reflecting on his playing career, Smith said: “I’ve had a fantastic time in the FA Cup, but it’s not about me. It’s about the players and their families and the supporters’ and giving them a good day out. They’re the ones that deserve it - the ones that turn out every week through thick and thin and give them a chance like we did at Gillingham and Leyton Orient.
“That would be nice just to give them something to cling on to and give them a big day out.”
Visit Bromley’s website: www.bromleyfc.net
Sutton United v Bromley
The FA Cup with Budweiser Second Qualifying Round
Saturday 22nd September 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Borough Sports Ground, Gander Green Lane, Sutton, Surrey SM1 2EY
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd