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"Don't get me wrong, we've all been thinking about the third round," said Saroya. "But we know that it's going to be a really tough game at Slough. It will be full with about 2,000 people there, which the boys aren't used to playing in front of."

Saroya is one of the few players in the Yeading side who might, with some justification, lay claims to having performed on a bigger stage. After being discarded by Brentford as a young professional he became disenchanted with football but through his former coach Wally Downes - a close friend of Jones - fortuitously found himself involved in Mean Machine.

"Wally knew I was doing nothing and his initial offer was for me to help the actors in Mean Machine with their football skills and fitness for two weeks but the next thing I was getting filming dates," said Saroya, who went on to play a convict in the movie that charts the story of a jailed football star who leads a group of prisoners in a match against prison guards.

"They were long days. We were working seven in the morning until seven at night everyday but it was so enjoyable," added Saroya. "The cast and crew screening was really special. I had never seen myself on the big screen before and I was trying not to grin from ear to ear. When the film came out I was getting recognised in places, there were people who didn't really know me saying 'weren't you in that film?', which was really nice. And I got paid, which for me at the time, as a young lad just released from Brentford, felt like Christmas."

Saroya built up a strong rapport with the Mean Machine cast, whom he also credits with giving him the confidence and belief to rekindle his football career at Yeading.

He recalls several humorous moments from his time on set, not least the occasion when Jones intimated his protege couldn't handle the pressure. "On the very last goal I had to knock a 50-yard ball to Vinnie and he takes it on from there and sets up the goal," said Saroya. "We did the practice ones without the film rolling and I kept shanking the passes, they were going everywhere.

"Vinnie ran off and got some toilet roll and came back and said, 'Nev here you are, that's for you son' - everyone was laughing. But we started filming and thankfully I pinged the pass okay, though we must have had four or five takes because Vinnie's touch wasn't the best!"

Saroya speaks fondly of Jones, whom he describes as 'a normal guy, who had time for everyone'. But while the former Wimbledon player enjoys riches that Saroya can only dream of in his work as a courier, there are similarities between the two on the pitch.

Despite his genial manner away from football, Saroya has developed a reputation for courting trouble when he steps on the field. He missed the start of the season because of a sending-off at the end of the previous campaign and upon his return to action in a reserve game was dismissed, prompting a 35-day ban. Mention of the word 'discipline' prompts a rueful smile.

"My manager always says off the pitch you are the nicest guy in the world and on it you are a bit of a loon," said Saroya. "I've been told in the last few years that if I could cut that out of my game people would come knocking on the door but I get carried away in games and I play with my heart on my sleeve."

Saroya harbours aspirations of returning to professional football, much more so than acting which he refers to as "a one-off ", and he is fully aware that victory over Slough could provide the opportunity to showcase his talent.

"If you can draw a big team in the next round then that's the biggest shop window you could ask for, and if you can produce on that day then you have got a chance," he said.

"I know I have the ability to play at a higher level but you need that bit of luck and you have got to prove it to other people."