The engineer missing his shift at Wembley... to play there instead

"Don't put me in the same category as those two!" says Jay Lovell, taken aback as his name is mentioned in the same breath as Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney.

The defender, 33, is set to join the former Liverpool and Manchester United captains in the history books on Sunday, by leading out a team at Wembley.

Lovell will captain Cockfosters, from Enfield in north London, in the FA Vase final against AFC Stoneham, based in the Hampshire town of Eastleigh.

The father-of-two always had plans to be at Wembley this weekend, though not quite like this.

Lovell is an escalator engineer from Hertfordshire and works for a company that has been responsible for installing, maintaining and upgrading the escalators at the national stadium.

It means he and his colleagues are required on site on the day of events in case there are any problems or issues.

Cockfosters beat Kent-based Punjab United 3-1 on aggregate over two legs in last month's semi-finals to book their place in the final.

It means Lovell will no longer be reporting to Wembley as an engineer this weekend, but instead will be looking to help his team lift the FA Vase for the first time in the club's history.

"Now that I have actually reached the final, no-one is working," Lovell tells BBC Sport.

"All of the lads are coming to watch me. We've passed the job on to someone else.

"One of my bosses actually turned around and said: 'Having a two-hour break to go and play football, are you?' He's had a good bit of banter with me about it."

'It's like winning the lottery'

After more than 15 years bouncing around non-league, Lovell remembers being on site for last year's final and thinking his chances of one day playing on the hallowed turf of Wembley were as likely as "winning the lottery".

"I remember walking around on the day of the FA Vase final last year before everyone got there," he says.

"There is a silence and you think, 'I could actually get here one day'. It's like winning the lottery - you spend the money in your head before you've won it. I never thought I'd get to Wembley.

"It is fairly emotional for me because I've worked it, I've been there and I've walked around Wembley.

"It's always been what-if, and now the what-if has come true. It still hasn't sunk in that I'll be there on 17 May playing."

'We do it for the love of the game'

When Cockfosters face AFC Stoneham of the Wessex League Premier Division on Sunday, it will be quite the change from the conditions Lovell and his team-mates have encountered over a gruelling season.

The Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division side have played more than 60 games across all competitions, with 11 of those coming between 4 April and 4 May.