Ferguson on Ebbsfleet tie: '˜We have to deal with the pitch, ground, atmosphere - we're not Real Madrid!'

Stonebridge Road is likely to be rocking come 3pm as the National League outfit plot a first round upset.

“We have to deal with that, there’ll be no excuses on that front,” said Ferguson.

“We’re not Real Madrid at the end of the day.

“Let’s get it right, we’re only two leagues above them.

“The pitch on the video looks okay.

“We’ve had them watched twice and they’ve got some handy players in their team.

“We’ve got to make sure we go there and stamp our authority on the game early doors.”

Ebbsfleet could call upon several recognisable names for today’s tie, including former Gillingham striker Danny Kedwell, ex-Sheffield United forward Febian Brandy and Aaron McLean, who played under Ferguson at Peterborough.

“It’s going to be a tough game, it won’t be easy,” said Rovers’ boss.

“One thing I will remind the players of before the game is that there will be shocks on Saturday and we’ve got to make sure we’re not one of them.

“We’ve prepared as normal and the aim is to go there and get the right result and get into the second round.

“But it won’t be easy because they’ve got some good, experienced players at Ebbsfleet.

“Aaron McLean’s a top bloke, I had a great time with him at Peterborough.

“Kedwell up front is a handful.

“They’ve got Myles Weston, Febian Brandy, they’ve got a lot of good experienced, striking options.”