Leyton Orient will take inspiration from the likes of Sutton United and Lincoln City when their FA Cup adventure gets underway with a trip to Maidstone United this afternoon.

Both Sutton and Lincoln have proven that there is a pathway for National League teams to progress in the historic competition, with the latter reaching the quarter finals in 2017 before being knocked out by Arsenal in a true David vs Goliath clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Sutton, meanwhile, were also knocked out by the Gunners in the same year after the two sides locked horns at Gander Green Lane in front of the TV cameras in the fifth round.

Orient’s last real cup run came under Russell Slade during the 2010/11 campaign when they reached the fifth round, earning a replay against Arsenal following Jonathan Tehoue’s memorable late equaliser in the 89th minute at Brisbane Road.

Their FA Cup journey would ultimately come to an end in the replay at the Emirates Stadium though, after the Premier League side ran out 5-0 winners.

The O’s will be hoping for better fortunes this time around in the competition after they were knocked out by Justin Edinburgh’s former side Gillingham in the first round last season.

While the O’s main focus is to challenge for promotion in the National League, Edinburgh is still keen for a cup run and despite hinting that he will make changes for this weekend’s fixture, the Orient head coach insists he will name a strong team for the match.

Asked if he wanted a cup run, Edinburgh said: “Absolutely. It’s a prestigious competition. It’s one where we’ve seen many teams from this level do well. Sutton and Lincoln a couple of years ago were quarter finalists and it was a fantastic achievement.

“What we have now is momentum and we don’t want to let that go. So, we’ll go there and be looking to win the game.

“The squad is good enough to do that (make changes). But we are mindful that we are in a competition with great tradition and we want to do well. We’ll look at that as the week unfolds.”

The East London side have fond memories of playing at the Gallagher Stadium, having beaten Maidstone 2-1 away from home in August thanks to goals from Josh Koroma as well as Marvin Ekpiteta.

But the Stones will be a different proposition this time around with Harry Wheeler now at the helm, after the former Billericay Town boss was appointed as Jay Saunders’ successor last month.

Saunders was sacked as Maidstone manager after seven years in charge in September following a tough start to the season which saw the Kent side pick up just seven points from their opening seven games.

Following a strong start to life under Wheeler, the Stones have since been condemned to back-to-back defeats to Bromley and AFC Fylde, dropping them down to 20th place in the National League.

But despite recent results, Edinburgh is still expecting a tough test and believes Maidstone will be out for revenge following Orient’s win at the Gallagher Stadium in August.

He said: “They’ll probably have a point to prove after we went there early in the season and won the game. They have a new manager, who I’m sure has new ideas and there will be a bit of a bounce factor. It will be a different encounter and a different approach.

“I don’t know him (Harry Wheeler) personally but it’s always good to see managers progress. People need opportunities and I hope he does well but not on Saturday.”