From Jersey to Wembley - Miley eyes Southend promotion

Cav Miley is one game away from promotion to the English Football League

"Never in a million years did I think it would happen," Cav Miley tells the BBC ahead of Southend United's National League Promotion Final at Wembley.

Eight years ago the 30-year-old was playing park football in his native Jersey for local club St Paul's while working as an electrician.

But on Sunday he will become the first Jerseyman to walk out at Wembley since Brett Pitman helped Portsmouth beat Sunderland in the 2019 EFL Trophy final.

"I never thought I'd be playing full-time football, to be honest, it doesn't really happen a lot with lads over there," said Miley.

"There's a few, but I was 22 at the time, an electrician playing for a club I was at for years. I never thought at 21 or 22 I'd be over here.

"You only really played football on the island," he added.

"Now they go off island all the time, and, obviously, you've got the Jersey Bulls, who are playing in the UK every other week, so you're getting a lot more fans and people seeing you than what you were probably seven or eight years ago, but I never thought it would happen."

Cav Miley had never played in any professional environment before signing for Eastleigh eight years ago

Miley was one of the top players in Jersey and got his lucky break after being recommended to Eastleigh by former Aston Villa manager Brian Little, who took charge of the Jersey side for a short spell in 2016.

Since then he has established himself as one of the National League's most consistent players.

He spent five seasons with the Spitfires, playing 185 league and FA Cup games before moving to Essex in the summer of 2022.

He has gone on to play more than 100 games for Southend, who have defied the odds to make the promotion final after finishing seventh in the National League.

It saw them clinch the league's final play-off place and, despite not having home advantage, defeated fourth-placed Rochdale before overcoming third-placed Forest Green Rovers on penalties to secure their spot in the final against fifth-placed Oldham Athletic.

"All my friends and family are coming over; there's loads of them - my mum, dad, brothers, sisters, loads of family and friends - so I can't wait," he says of the Jersey contingent who will be descending on Wembley on Sunday.

"I'll be going home after Wembley, hopefully with a promotion under my belt, and see all the family."

Should Southend go up, it would end a four-season exile from the English Football League, which at times saw the club's very existence in doubt amid financial issues.

And it could see Miley finally play in the English Football League after eight seasons in the fifth tier.

"It's a big occasion," says Miley.

"There was a big buzz after the semi-final, so hopefully we can go there and get the job done and make it an even better occasion."