Brentwood Town Manager Eager for Southend United FA Trophy Derby

Brentwood Town manager Keith Rowland, who has previously managed Wingate & Finchley, Aveley, and Tilbury, and notably spent four and a half years with West Ham between 1993 and 1998, has expressed his excitement for the upcoming all-Essex derby against Southend United. The two teams are set to face each other in the third round of the FA Trophy. This marks the first time Isthmian League North club Brentwood has advanced to this stage of the competition. Their progression was secured by eliminating Hereford, another former English Football League club, in the second round. Rowland, a former Premier League player for West Ham United and Coventry who also earned 19 caps for Northern Ireland, considers this match against Southend, a team positioned three levels higher in the non-league football structure, to be the standout fixture of the round. “It’s almost like the old Fourth Division to the Premier League in terms of trying to win a game of football, but you never know,” he told BBC Essex Sport. “I’ve been in football a long time and know you can’t take anything for granted. “A lot of people thought we’d never get through this round just past but we have and we’re really looking forward to it.” Southend, currently positioned 16th in the National League, will undertake a journey of only 20 miles for the match, which is scheduled to occur between 6 and 8 December. “We were coming back from Hereford, a four-and-a-half-hour trip, and it never entered my mind,” said Rowland. “People were talking about another away trip, and teams like Oldham – but as soon as the chairman said ‘I wouldn’t mind Southend at home’, I thought ‘that’s not a bad draw’.” The 53-year-old manager, however, missed hearing Brentwood’s number being drawn on Monday due to a momentary loss of his internet connection. “It would be very difficult for us to go all the way (in the competition) so a game like this at this stage is terrific for the club, and for the people that have been at the club for a long time,” he said. Brentwood is one of just three eighth-tier teams remaining in the competition, alongside Hadley and Sittingbourne. The original Brentwood Town club reached the third round of the FA Cup during the 1969-70 season before ceasing operations at the conclusion of that same season. The current club originated as Manor Athletic in the 1950s, later adopting the Brentwood name following the dissolution of the original club. Former Tottenham and England striker Jimmy Greaves was notably among their players for a period. Rowland expressed optimism that the 3G astroturf pitch at the Brentwood Arena could provide his team with an advantage against the Shrimpers, while also dismissing any suggestions of relocating the tie to a venue with a greater spectator capacity. “The ground has just gone through a revamp in the summer,” he added. “I wouldn’t want [the game] to be anywhere else apart from at the Brentwood stadium.”That’s the whole beauty of the FA Trophy – and the FA Cup really – you want a home tie, and we’ve got an absolutely plum tie, so on the playing side, we would be disappointed if it went anywhere else.” Brentwood Town’s home ground has a capacity for 1,000 spectators.