Ashford United striker still leads the FA Cup goals table

KentOnline / KMTV

Gary Lockyer's side were knocked out of the FA Cup in September, but their striker could still take home The Golden Ball in partnership with Mitre.

Transcript

00:00Gary, thank you very much for joining us today. First of all, let's talk about the

00:03Golden Boot. We spoke to you when you guys at Ashford were still in the

00:07competition all those months ago, but you're still at the top of the table now.

00:11How does it feel to still see yourself up there?

00:14Yeah, very well to be fair. Obviously, it was touch and go. A couple of

00:21gentlemen below me as well and I think they went a little bit further than

00:25myself in the competition. I think, obviously, it's quite hard for our

00:30standard to progress in the later stages with the elite teams, but

00:35yeah, no, it feels good. I feel confident as well.

00:41Fantastic. I mean, I know you're quite the humble guy when it comes to stats and

00:45records and things like that, but have you been keeping an eye on the table as

00:48the competition's been progressing? I know, obviously, we've got the Premier

00:51League sides in the FA Cup now.

00:55Yeah, I'd be lying if I say I wasn't checking. I think it'd be an

01:00unbelievable personal achievement for myself to be top goalscorer in one of

01:06the oldest and best competitions around. I think it's watched

01:11all over the world. Even though Ashford United themselves have done very well this

01:16year, I think it was our best achievement, our best round to get to.

01:22So, yeah, I do check it. I do like to check it. I do like to check

01:27if I know that a player's going to get close or potentially overtake and

01:33you never know with the pro clubs coming in. Absolutely, of course. I mean, you

01:37allude to it, but you are up against the likes of some of the top scorers in the

01:40country. We think of Mo Salah playing for Liverpool or even Erling Haaland. I

01:43know that Manchester City haven't had quite the season that they've had in

01:47previous years, but those are the names that you yourself are up against. I mean,

01:51do you have any early predictions for the FA Cup this year? Liverpool have

01:54obviously been very strong so far. Well, I'm a Man United fan, so I would

02:01like, obviously, Man United to win it again like they did last year, you know,

02:05and if I win it and go to Wembley to receive the golden ball, it would be

02:13even better to watch Man United again. You know, these elite players that you

02:17sort of put my name against is a bit surreal. Like, you know, they're by

02:22far better than myself. They train in day in, day out. They have the mindset

02:28of the elite athletes and anything's possible with them. So that's why I sort

02:33of stay a bit grounded on myself winning the competition. I do check it,

02:40obviously, you know, the draws that they get, etc. So yeah, it's nice to be put

02:47into that bracket, but I wouldn't say I'm on sort of their level. Well, let's

02:52talk about the level that you are at. Obviously, your team, Ashford United,

02:56currently in the Idsmean South East. How do you feel the season's been going?

03:00Because you actually returned to the scene, returned to the club not too

03:03long ago. Yeah, so I'm a local boy. I live about a mile and a half away from

03:11the ground, so it's pretty good. I also run an Ashland district under-12s boys

03:17team, which my daughter plays in. Ashford United is a big part of me. I've played

03:24sort of nearly 130 games. So I'm sort of around 60 appearances from all-time

03:31appearances, and I'm 14 goals away from all-time top goalscorers. So that was part

03:37of the reason to return this year. It's got new owners this year as well that

03:41are trying to progress the club even further, and it's something that I

03:45wanted to be a part of. So yeah, moving forward, that's exactly what I'd like to

03:50do. You know, 32 now, so I'd probably like to see sort of my career out there and,

03:56you know, potentially become a legend. A devoted guy. Gary Lockhear, top of the

04:01Golden Boot standings, as it is at the moment. Thank you very much for joining

04:05us. Really good to speak with you today. Thank you very much. See you later.

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