Dixon: We're the bookies' favourites, but Dunston are the people's favourites

West go into the big match as the bookies' favourites to win the competition – a testament to the fact that they started in the very first qualifying round last September and played ten games to get there -- but in terms of popularity, he believes that Dunston are the favourites.

“Ever since we beat Whitley Bay in the quarter finals, the tide has turned against us," said Dixon, 42. "Some people thought that we had a huge audacity to beat them because they had won the last three competitions, but that opinion doesn’t bother me. There's been a little bit of a backlash, which has shocked the genuine people at our club.

“I’m expecting a very competitive and very close game, and I think it’ll be a classic cup final. I certainly don’t think it’ll be a cagey game, because both teams know each other so well. We’re the bookies’ favourites, but that’s only because we knocked the holders out, and yet I think we’ve had the most difficult route to the final in terms of distance travelled to places like Bitton, Bournemouth and Herne Bay.

“It seems bizarre playing Dunston from our league, at a ground 250 miles away when Dunston is only 25 miles up the road! But it’s a great day for both clubs, the League and Northern League supporters, where better to play a game than at Wembley? I don’t think our players will freeze, I think they’ll rise to the occasion. There is no better place for footballers at our level to play.

“In terms of recent history in our league, Dunston are the team that has won the league and league cup double before, and they’ve been in the top six each season for the last ten years. We can argue that we should have been champions this season, but based on recent history in our league, they’re favourites."

West lost at Wembley in their previous visit for the 1961 Amateur Cup final against Walthamstow Avenue, and are the second team from the south west Durham area to reach the Vase final, following Tow Law in 1998, when they lost to Tiverton.

“The last few weeks have been a huge learning curve for the club. The Vase has been a massive distraction for us, and maybe not as many people at our club were hurt as much as I was when we were pipped for the league title. I think I’m a pragmatic person, and I want to do as well as possible in every competition we enter, but I can understand how no one has done the Vase and League double for a long time. There’s so much to take on board after the semi final that can be distracting. In recent weeks in the league, our players have kept injuries secret and played when they shouldn’t have done, and at times I think because of that, some of our performances have been affected.

“I’m not going to change our approach to the game. I know enough about their team, and the strange thing is, at the moment I’ve got a better idea of what Billy Irwin’s team will be than what mine will be. I’ll speak to my assistant, Paul Foster, and make my mind up on Sunday lunchtime, because it’s very difficult to tell two of our players that they won’t be in the 16.I want them all to enjoy the build up to the game, and the Wembley experience, so I’ll give them the bad news as late as possible."

Vase fever has certainly taken hold of the club and the village since West overcame Herne Bay in a highly emotional two legged semi final. There's at least 2,500 going southwards to cheer West on, not a bad following considering that their average gate is just over 100.

“For me, the reward for reaching Wembley was straight after the final whistle against Herne Bay, and I saw the looks and the tears on the faces of people like Cliff Alderson, Stuart Alderson, Allen Bayles and the rest of the committee who have been at the club for many years. It has been their ambition to see West play at Wembley, and it is worth more than all the money in the world to me. In some ways I feel like a fairy godfather! Personally, I want to win silverware of some sort this season. It is all about winning the Vase for me, I haven’t come along just for the ride.

“Without a doubt, Wembley is the biggest game of my career, although there have been several big games so far in this run, particularly at Bitton.

“I knew after the Whitley Bay quarter final game that we would get to Wembley, I just felt at that point it was nailed on. That game was bigger than the semi that followed, especially after losing Alex Francis during the game because of injury."

Dixon will be without injured midfielder Alex Francis while top scorer Mattie Moffat might ignore doctor’s advice and play with a fractured cheekbone. .

"We are going to miss Alex badly. With due respect to the rest of the team, if he had stayed fit, I think we’d have won the league four games before the end of the season, and we’d have been going to Wembley as league champions. If Mattie decides not to play, we will miss him badly as well, some of his goals have been fantastic this season, and of course he’s one of the leading scorers in the league.

“Neil Pattinson will captain the side if Mattie doesn’t play. If there’s a silver lining to Mattie being injured, then it’s Neil being captain. He’s a natural leader, and he’s a man that the rest of the players look up to. Ironically, he had a spell at Dunston before he joined us. He will lead by example.

“Nevertheless, the players who go out on to the field will give everything. Six of them came with me from Crook in the second division three seasons ago, and only two or three of the team would be coveted by other clubs. It’s not as if we’ve bought a team from somewhere else, the players have stepped up to the plate and delivered. They just need to do it one more time."