Hendon manager Gary McCann is hoping his side’s cup success can pave the way for promotion after adding the London Senior Cup to the Greens’ trophy cabinet.

A 3-2 extra-time win over Tooting & Mitcham United on Thursday completed a cup double this season for Hendon, who have already lifted the Isthmian League Cup, beating Grays Athletic by the same score last month.

McCann, pictured, has now won four trophies during his ten years at the helm but clinching promotion to the Conference South would eclipse all of those achievements.

First though, they must seek to find a way past Metropolitan Police at Earlsmead tonight (Thursday) in their long-awaited play-off semi-final.

It has been a period of frustration for McCann – and his contemporaries at Margate, Dulwich Hamlet and Enfield Town – after the Isthmian Premier Division play-offs were postponed following an ineligible player case against Enfield.

But with the case now over and Town replaced in the play-offs by the Met, McCann hopes his side’s cup success can serve them well.

“I think it serves you well because you need a cup mentality in the play-offs,” he explained. “There is no margin for error.

“We were lucky against Tooting and Mitcham but we managed to stay in the game and equalise, so it will serve us well. There is so much at stake in these one-off games.

“Now it is up to myself and my staff to keep the lads focused and to keep their feet firmly on the ground.”

Reflecting on an extra-time victory which came courtesy of strikes from Aaron Morgan (2) and Kezie Ibe at Imber Court, the former goalkeeper conceded his side had not been at the peak of their powers.

“It was a difficult game for us,” admitted McCann. “It was not our most majestic performance. But we showed know how to get over the line, even when we are not at our best.

“It took an age for us to get into the game. But for us to get over the line is tribute to where this squad is at the moment and we must harness that on Thursday.”

The Isthmian League season ended on Saturday, April 25 for Hendon, who were runners-up to eventual winners Maidstone United. But thanks to their cup involvement the Greens will at least have been in competitive action since ending the season with a 2-1 win over Leiston.

“The purpose of the game was to keep us ticking over,” stated McCann. “We needed competitive minutes before the play-off game and maybe that affected our performance. Maybe the focus was too much on the play-offs.”

Met Police have also had the luxury of a competitive fixture in the build-up to the semi-final, defeating Merstham 2-0 in the Surrey Senior Cup last Wednesday, and McCann says he expects Jim Cooper’s side to be similarly prepared to his own.

He said: “We had their cup final watched but it is difficult to know how they will shape up. They have made it clear they have one or two holidays but we know about each other.”

And despite seeing his own side affected directly by the lengthy wait for the Football Association to decide on the outcome of Enfield’s ineligible player case, McCann has sympathy with opposite number Bradley Quinton.

He explained: “I have total sympathy for Enfield and all five teams involved. The time it has taken is unbelievable. They feel very hard done by and so they should. They did wrong but through no fault of their own.

“It was a clerical issue again. Everything is in place but we are still working with fax machines at the FA.”

The play-off final will be contested on Sunday and should Hendon reach it, the game will be held at their Earlsmead home.