MATTHEW Le Tissier's boyhood hero, Liam Brady, has paid a glowing tribute to the Saints legend on the day of the testimonial that will bring to an end his 17 years of service at Southampton.

Over 32,000 fans will pack into St Mary's tonight to thank Le Tissier for his loyal service and the 209 goals he has scored since joining Saints in 1985.

In a recent interview with the Daily Echo, Matt admitted that he idolised Brady, along with Glenn Hoddle, as a boy and said: "Brady had a left foot I would have killed for. If I could have had his left foot I would have been quite a decent player."

And Arsenal legend Brady, currently Arsenal's head of youth development, was quick to return the compliment, saying: "It must make me old if somebody who is retiring sees me as their boyhood hero! But seriously, it is very nice of Matt to say that.

"He has always been nice to me when we have bumped into one another and he has been a tremendous player - probably one of the most skilful players in the country, and it's sad that he's retiring.

"Some of the things he did down at Southampton were quite fantastic. He did have opportunities to move away but stayed loyal and he deserves the tribute that the testimonial is going to bring.

"I rate him at the very top of the tree with Paul Gascoigne and Glenn Hoddle. Not many English players spring to mind who had that kind of beautiful balance and technique, the control and ability for scoring goals.

"Matt could whack them in every way - he could bend them, he could chip them in, he could do anything with the ball with his right foot, and when you think about highly gifted English players there are not that many who spring to mind."

A galaxy of stars will be turning out to play in the match between a Saints' side and an England XI this evening, including Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and John Barnes. They will be honouring a man for his loyalty and contribution to Saints, but Brady admitted he felt that playing for a bigger club may have meant more England caps for Le Tissier

"I would have liked to see Matt play for a team that was going to challenge for trophies to see how far that technique would take him. I think if he had done that his claims for more England caps would have been enhanced," added Brady.

"In some ways, maybe Glenn Hoddle wasn't at all fair to him - to bring him in and then discard him as quickly as he brought him in, was a bit unfair, but I am only looking from the outside.

"You can always tell a class player when he has time on the ball. Matt always seemed to have options and time to think about it. That was because he was in control of the situation and in control of the ball."