BRAVE and proud. Perhaps the most deserving Saints fan at the FA Cup showdown in Cardiff tomorrow will be Hampshire eight-year-old Jack Belge, pictured right with the famous trophy.

And he has this stirring message for manager Gordon Strachan's team: "Please win the cup for me."

After having open heart surgery on four different occasions, Jack is no ordinary Saints' fan - and the historic final against Arsenal will be anything but ordinary.

He has been chosen as one of the 22 youngsters from around the country who will walk out into the roar of the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff as an escort alongside one of their footballing heroes.

The Hythe Primary School pupil was entered into the Nationwide Building Society competition in the Daily Echo on May 1 to find an official team escort from the Southampton area - and he emerged as the winner.

Mum Sue said: "Jack was born with a faulty aortic valve and he has been having open heart surgery since he was six months old - the last one was in January - but he is always happy and he takes everything in his stride.

"Although he has had to have quite a lot of time off school, he has always battled on to keep up with his lessons."

Jack's older brother Tom, 11, and dad Steve are both season ticket holders at Saints' £32m stadium, which means they have been able to get tickets for the game and he is taken to matches on a frequent basis by his mum, who will be his carer at Cardiff.

"He was ecstatic when he heard he had been chosen and he is still on cloud nine. He loves the Saints, he's got a James Beattie haircut and his favourite player is Wayne Bridge," said Sue, who is from the Waterside.

Nationwide sponsorship manager Paul Hibbs confirmed that hundreds of youngsters were entered into the Daily Echo competition and said: "We chose Jack because of the difficulties he has had and the way he is battling on so bravely. We want this to be a fantastic experience for him, and something he will never forget."

Nationwide had two escort places and in order to find one young fan from the area of each club, they staged one competition through the Daily Echo and one through Arsenal's local paper, the Islington Gazette.

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