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.
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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.