Saints legend Matt Le Tissier was at Mountbatten School in Romsey to officially open a new sports facility this week.

The project, which has seen a third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP) constructed at the Hampshire school, was made possible thanks to a £312,294 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund.

Le Tiss, who made 540 appearances and scored 209 goals for Saints, said: “much of Saints’ recent success has been due to talented, young, home-grown players progressing from the academy into the first team.

“For that reason I’m so pleased to open this excellent new facility.

“High quality playing surfaces are vitally important in aiding the technical development of young players and now pupils at Mountbatten and local clubs will be able to reap the benefits.

“It’s great to see money from the top of the professional game, through the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, being invested into the grassroots and with facilities like these, I’m sure we’ll see Southampton produce many more stars of the future.”

“We were delighted that Matt Le Tissier was able to find a slot in his busy diary to open this wonderful facility,” Mountbatten executive head-teacher, Heather McIlroy, said.

“Our Mountbatten students and all local primary school children are now able to enjoy year round sporting opportunities.”

See today's Daily Echo for more pictures from the opening.