SAINTS have made it into the Champions League - and it's all thanks to the spiritual skills of yoga.

That is the message conveyed in author Simon Ralli Robinson's novel, 'The Yogi Footballer.'

The book, which is out this week, details the rather far-fetched story about a boy named Benjamin Boddy, who is born in Nepal as a yogi and cared for by monks in a remote mountain monastery.

A British couple adopt him and, because of his remarkable physical and mental abilities, he becomes a footballer with Saints, before being picked for England.

"The actual character teaches yoga. He's actually at school in the New Forest because it is a really natural and beautiful area," explained Robinson, who supported Saints at school.

"I wanted him to play for one of the smaller Premiership clubs because he is not interested in the materialism and fame that comes with a big club.

"Ben is a very spiritual person, so having him play for the Saints just seemed perfect.

"In the novel, Saints narrowly avoid relegation and want to sign a fantastic player and Ben isn't interested in playing for the big clubs, so he says he will play for Saints if they accept him for the person he is.

"Because he teaches his teammates yoga, which is not just physical but is also about mental control, they lift up to fifth and the season after they make it into the Champions League.

"Ben has semi-supernatural skills and he can almost sense players behind him.

"Even the manager of Southampton, Mike Banks, has his wife and daughter get in on the act.

"Ben is truly a player a world away from the Beckhams and Rooneys, and hopefully an inspiration to young football fans."

To encapsulate the entire Saints experience, Robinson has even included the Daily Echo in the novel.

He said: "There is also a character who is an Echo photographer called Grant Poppleton and he becomes friends with Ben after the News of the World and the Mirror photographers kick him out of an England game.

"Ben invites him along to the game, where he sits on the side of the pitch and not behind the goal with the other photographers.

"That means he gets the most amazing picture of Ben scoring one of the greatest ever goals and his picture is the one that gets syndicated around the world."

Robinson was inspired by the ancient Hindu text 'The Bhagavad Gita', which is a story of a battle between two armies. And although the action takes place on the football pitch in the novel, the spiritual message of yoga is the same.

He wrote the book on the banks of the River Ganges, but was almost denied the chance to complete it when his life was threatened by illness.

"I nearly died in India as I had a liver reaction to the malaria tablets I took," he remarked.

"I couldn't leave the house and was about four weeks from death at one point."

Having made a full recovery, Robinson is hoping his book will be a big hit with Saints fans and that the lead character will provide a role model for children.

He said: "I'm hoping that Saints fans really like it.

"I'm trying to create a very positive role model, especially for kids.

"Ben's impact on people around the world does not go unnoticed though and both Ben and the England football team become the targets of a dramatic terrorist plot.

"In these times of wide scale corruption, and collapsing belief in our governments, banking systems, giant corporations, the military, legal and educational institutions, where we are told that war brings freedom, Benjamin Boddy - 'The Yogi Footballer' - is destined to become a new kind of hero for the aware generation."

The Yogi Footballers is available priced £12.99 on Amazon, and also from the publishers Inner Sanctum at www.innersanctumpublications.com Anyone ordering direct from the publishers will get a 30 per cent discount.