A DREAM appearance at Wembley may just be 90 minutes away, however Needham full-back Ben Wake showed no sign of nerves ahead of tomorrow's FA Vase semi-final.

Stuart Watson

A DREAM appearance at Wembley may just be 90 minutes away, however Needham full-back Ben Wake showed no sign of nerves ahead of tomorrow's FA Vase semi-final.

The attack minded left-back said: “Obviously we are a goal behind but that is not a big problem, we can come back from that quite comfortably.

“We've just got to keep it tight at the back and build from there. I'm fully confident in myself and my team mates and am just looking forward to it now.”

Wake, a postman in Stowmarket by trade, is one of the many West Suffolk College football academy products that have been reunited with their former mentor Danny Laws at Needham.

The 22-year-old dropped down a level at the end of last season to join Ridgeons League Needham from Ryman League side Wivenhoe Town.

That decision now looks an obvious one, with Wivenhoe battling relegation, but at the time Wake says a potentially hard choice was made easy because of the Danny Laws factor.

He said: “I'd had three years at Wivenhoe, two of which we made the play-offs, but Danny came calling and I jumped at the chance to join him. For me he is the best manager in the area by a mile.

“He just installs this confidence in everyone. Obviously now everyone is starting to think we can go all the way, but Danny was saying that in round one.

“The players really start to believe it and if you have 16 players and a backroom staff all believing in the same thing that is very powerful.”

Wake's fellow full-back Lewis Pemberton said: “At the moment I am keeping away from the newspapers because it is not really one of those games that you want to get too worked up about. It's going to be intense, but we've got to try and treat it as a normal game.”

The 22 year-old tiler added: “There is no doubt that we will face some tough spells during the game but we will attack and defend as a team.

“All my friends and former colleagues have been texting me saying good luck and that they will be at the game so hopefully it will be a great atmosphere.”