BRADFORD Town manager Wayne Thorne says his club have their eyes set on walking out at Wembley Stadium ahead of their FA Vase last-16 tie at home to Leighton Town on Saturday.

The Bobcats have never reached the quarter-finals in the club’s history, though Thorne and several squad members have competed in the next round earlier in their respective careers.

Thorne made it within two games of Wembley as manager of Larkhall Athletic while Gary Higdon and Kieran Baggs were a part of the Melksham Town set-up that fell to a late Thatcham Town goal in the competition’s latter stages two years ago.

Far from being arrogant about his side’s chances though, Thorne remains confident that his ever-improving team can build on this season’s good form by making club history on Saturday.

He said: “If we win on Saturday then we’ve made a little bit of history for the club, but what we’ve done is grow in confidence all throughout this season.

“We’re top of the league and we’re in the quarter-finals of the Les Phillips Cup.

“I know the players wouldn’t be happy with just winning on Saturday – they want to go to Wembley.

“We’re so close now that if we can get through Saturday then we have to start believing that we can do it.

“Especially at home, we’re a tough place to play, no one will want to come here – but let’s just get through Saturday and see what happens.”

Despite only being founded in 1992, the Trowbridge Road outfit has an excellent recent record in the FA Vase.

Fifth-round appearances have been chalked up in three of the past six seasons, though an elusive quarter-final spot has often just been out of reach.

Hopeful of that changing this weekend in front of an expected record crowd - the club’s previous best was 621 against Melksham in the same competition in 2015 - Thorne sees no reason why his side can’t go all the way if they beat their Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division counterparts.

He said: “The lads have to understand that the club has never got past this round – so if we get to the quarter-finals, it becomes a lottery.

“I’ve said it since the first round, if we get past this round it becomes anybody’s.

“So that’s always been the aim for us – ever since Solent back in August, we’ve aimed for the quarter-finals because I’m a manager who wants to push boundaries and break records.

“And knowing that the club has never reached the quarters before, that was the round we decided to aim for.”