FORMER York City favourite Luke Graham insists his return to Bootham Crescent will hold no fear for him or his Brackley Town team-mates.

Graham is a member of the part-time Northamptonshire outfit, who have fought their way to the last eight of this season’s FA Trophy, having already matched the club’s best-ever FA Cup run.

The Saints knocked Sky Bet League One club Gillingham out of that competition 4-3 after forcing a replay at the Kent club and then narrowly bowed out 1-0 when they visited Blackpool in the second round.

Brackley have also negotiated tough away draws against National League North big guns AFC Fylde and Stockport in the FA Trophy, leading Graham to reason: “We’ve done well in the cup competitions and we’ve come through every round of the Trophy after being drawn away, so we weren’t really fussed who we got.

“It’s a case of bring it on. We’ve acquitted ourselves well against higher-level sides this season and played with confidence.

“We’ve stuck to our game plan and know we are capable of getting a result. York have brought a lot of good, new players in but, for whatever reason, the results haven’t been coming and that also gives us confidence.

“We are expecting a tight affair. We’re a small club with some great people behind the scenes, who make it all work.

“We have a very humble management team and a group of players who work hard for each other and enjoy their football. We’ve not got carried away by how far we’ve gone in the Trophy and have just stumbled our way to the last eight really, but it’s natural people are starting to get excited about Wembley now, so we want to go further and believe we can.

“We’ll be looking to try and play football and get that first goal. If York turn up then, man-for-man, it will be tough for us, but it’s a one-off game, so we’ll see.

“We beat Gloucester in a difficult game on a horrible pitch on Tuesday night and that’s helped our mindset going into this game.”

Graham, now 30, was a member of the Minstermen’s 2009/10 squad that came within one match of reclaiming their Football League status and, although stating that he is not shocked by the club’s current position second-bottom in the National League, he will be willing his former employers to beat the drop after first adding to their woes in the Trophy.

“It’s not really a surprise where York are because these things happen in football if you don’t recruit right as getting the right players is important at any level,” Graham reasoned. “It will be nice to show my old club that I’ve still got a bit left in the tank, but I have fond memories of my time there, so I keep an eye on their results and I really hope they pull through this season, because the Conference North is the most competitive it’s ever been.

“I won it with Kettering in 2008 but, ten years on, there’s a massive difference. You’ve probably got ten clubs who are vying to get out of it.

“There are big ones like Stockport and Darlington, along with others like Kidderminster and Tamworth, who have been in the Conference before. A lot of clubs are throwing money at it now and, for Stockport not to have got back up yet, shows how tough it is.”

Having only returned to Wembley as a visitor, Graham is also relishing the thought of a second possible outing on the hallowed turf after losing 3-1 to Oxford with City in the play-off final seven years ago.

“I missed out with Luton in the Trophy semi-finals the year after and I’ve only been back when I was working as a lecturer and took the college team I coached on stadium tours there,” he reminisced. “Every footballer dreams of playing there and we’ve got quite a young group, so it’s great for them to get a taste of a cup run and what it takes to get to the final stages.”

Playing under the world-famous arch could also help extinguish the bitter-sweet memory of the Oxford game, which saw City never recover from conceding early goals to Matt Green and James Constable.

“It was a disappointing scoreline, but a great occasion and we had worked hard to get there,” Graham explained. “Nobody expected us to get past Luton, but we showed what can be achieved if you stick together, work hard and get that bit of luck.

“Wembley is not just a great day out for yourself, but for your family and the fans as well, but we didn’t get out of the blocks and that first 20 minutes cost us. We were a defensive side back then who soaked pressure up and hit teams on the break with Richard Brodie scoring all sorts of goals - even off his backside.

“We were never really a team who went a goal down. We were set up to get the first goal and then would normally go on to win 1-0 or 2-1, but we were like rabbits in headlights that day with a lot of us playing at Wembley for the first time.

“Even so, I remember Ranks (Michael Rankine) having a great chance at 2-1 down and we just got done on the break for the third goal, so the final result wasn’t really a fair reflection of the match.”

Graham played 36 times that season for the Minstermen before opting to move back to Kettering in the summer.

It is a decision he claims was his biggest mistake in football, despite going on to reach the play-off final the following year with Luton.

“York were only offering ten-month contracts back then, but it’s still my biggest regret in football that I didn’t stay on for a couple more seasons to help them get back up,” Graham admitted. “I’d just bought a house in Northampton, so Kettering made my life a lot simpler, but, sometimes, it’s not always about money or your lifestyle and I would have liked the opportunity to play in the League.”

The 6ft 2in centre back has taken his first step towards a career in coaching, meanwhile, but has no plans to hang up his boots yet, saying: “I feel really good and fit and the system we play, with three at the back, suits me.

“I’m on course to play more than 50 games this season again and have been injury free, so definitely feel I’ve got a few years left in me, but I also want to bow out gracefully at a decent level, which I think is the case in National League North. I’ve done all my coaching badges and I’m head of Kettering’s academy now.

“I like mentoring and feel I can be a role model by passing on the knowledge that has allowed me to play 500 games at a good standard.”

Having also gained a first-class honours degree in sports journalism that incorporated radio commentary and writing articles for the Hereford Times, Graham has another string to his bow, but confessed: “I feel I’m a better coach than a sports journalist, but it’s something I might come back to.”