CHESHAM United are into extra-time in their FA Cup run – by about three months.

The second lowest-ranked club left in the competition visit Valley Parade a fortnight tomorrow in the second round.

Currently 105 places in the football pyramid separate the teams, more than double the gap that the Bantams famously bridged last season against Chelsea and Sunderland.

This is unchartered territory for the Buckinghamshire club and their long-time manager Andy Leese, now into his ninth year in charge.

“We’ve had some terrible performances in the FA Cup in my tenure,” he admitted to the Telegraph & Argus.

“We’ve generally gone out in August or September, right at the start, and usually to lower-league teams. We lost in the last minute to a couple of them so you can imagine what that was like.

“This is completely the other end of the spectrum. I’ve gone from being the worst manager we’ve had because I can’t win a cup game to being the best!”

The Southern Premier League side nearly went the same way this campaign as before.

Goalkeeper Shane Gore kept them in it with a man-of-the-match display in a goalless first qualifying round tie at home to Aylesbury.

Leese said: “They were from the league below and really did a job on us. We were very fortunate to get a draw before winning away in the replay.

“We could have lost straight away again. But you need that bit of luck and every round since we’ve been tremendous.”

That included a famous win at Bristol Rovers, when Gore again excelled as they shocked the League Two hosts. Ryan Blake scored the only goal and Leese felt the scalp was warranted.

“I think on reflection we did enough to win the game. We weren’t defensive but we had to defend well.

“We came under huge spells of pressure but we expected that. But we also missed a penalty and I’m sure the Bristol supporters respected the way we played.”

Leese was at Valley Parade on Wednesday to discover at first hand who the Generals would be facing next. They got the prize that everyone at the club had hoped for when the draw was made.

“No disrespect to Aldershot at all but in terms of where we are in the pyramid of football, playing against Bradford is what the competition is all about for us.

“The stadium and the atmosphere the other night, even with a very small crowd, was something totally different to what we are used to. They were a Premier League club not too long ago.”

City’s win also meant Chesham could implement plan A in their travel plans for only the second appearance in round two in the club’s history.

“We were preparing two itineraries for travelling,” said Leese. “One involved leaving the day before and staying in a nice hotel; the other was treating it as a normal match day, taking our own cars and meeting at the ground!

“But we’re not just coming for the trip. Rest assured we will do our best to make it mighty difficult for Bradford.”

The long journey will not be a factor for a side who are in the middle of an incredible stretch of 11 successive away games between October 27 and December 19. The FA Cup cash windfall has effectively kept Chesham afloat, according to their manager.

“This would have brought us to our knees in previous years. It’s a unique situation and luckily the cup run has kept the bank account healthy.

“Next week we’ve got three fairly long trips to Paulton Rovers, near Bath, then Kettering and Frome just outside Bristol.

“You couldn’t make it up but obviously the coach company absolutely love us.”

Leese, who grew up admiring the likes of Alan Hudson, Peter Shilton and Jimmy Greenhoff at his beloved hometown club Stoke, felt he learned plenty from his midweek scouting mission.

He hopes to have the Bantams watched again but has already drawn up a Baldrick-style cunning plan.

“I was thinking of starting with two goalkeepers and 14 outfield players and see if they notice,” he laughed.

“We are obviously very respectful of Bradford. They are technically better players than us and stronger and we’ve got to try to nullify their threats.

“The other night was very informative but I’m realistic and know Bradford have got a big squad and could easily change quite a lot of players.

“There is a gulf of over 100 places between us for a reason. A lot of things have got to go our way if we are to have any chance at all.

“But the confidence in the camp is fantastic after the Bristol Rovers result. We aren’t arrogant but you can see in the squad we’ve got that bit of swagger, individually and collectively.

“Some of our players see this a great stage to showcase their own ability. If they can perform at a place like Bradford then that might get them noticed.

“Of course it’s going to be a huge, huge ask. But it’s the stuff that dreams are made of for us to get this far.”