Sheppey United v Walsall preview: Minnows backed by famous fan as Bradshaw looks to haunt Saddlers

His goal helped Sheppey to secure a 1-1 draw in the previous round, as the Ites booked their place in the FA Cup first round for the first time in their history via a penalty shootout.

FA Cup fever has consumed the Isle of Sheppey, and they even have their very own celebrity fan in the shape of Shaun Williamson (AKA Barry Evans from EastEnders).

However, Tom won’t be able to make the trip to Holm Park with Millwall preparing to face Southampton at The Den on Saturday.

But the Wales international will be watching on TV, and understandably admitted that family comes first.

“It’ll be a tough place to go and it’s not a game I envy for Walsall players because especially when teams go to the ground where there’s a no lose situation,” he assesses.

“It’s a bonus that they (Sheppey) get to play in the FA Cup first round and it’s an experience that they’ll enjoy but there is no expectation on them to win the game. They can be dangerous games to play in.

“There’s not many teams I’d be rooting for against Walsall but purely from a family point of view, I hope that my brother scores.”

Tom joined Saddlers from local rivals Shrewsbury Town in 2014, and was one of the club’s best centre-forwards of the last decade.

Dean Smith assembled a talented squad, which featured the likes of Neil Etheridge, Rico Henry and Romaine Sawyers, and Tom was another top prospect in Walsall’s ranks at the time.

He scored 20 goals in each of his two seasons across all competitions at Bescot, and helped them reach the League One play-offs in 2016.

The forward joined Barnsley at the end of the play-off campaign, and has gone onto forge an impressive career for himself with the Tykes, and later Millwall.

Since then, the 31-year-old has also played eight times for Wales, and still reflects on his time at Walsall with great fondness.

“My older brother lives in Walsall and my family are all sort of still based in Shrewsbury,” he revealed.

“Everyone really enjoyed that period in my career where it felt like pretty much every game I played in, I scored.

“I’ve still got a great relationship with Walsall fans in terms of even when I left, it was never viewed sourly.

“It can sort of muddy the waters when you leave a club, but I think Walsall fans understood that I wanted to try to play at Championship level.

“I felt they saw that and they saw me as a good servant for the club, and I did everything I could to get Walsall into the Championship, but it wasn’t meant to be.”