MATTHEW Le Tissier is set to prove the doubters wrong by signing on the dotted line for Eastleigh on Saturday.

After all the summer hype that surrounded his link with the Jewson Wessex League club, the 34-year-old Saints legend has made only a half-hour appearance as a substitute in a pre-season friendly against Bashley.

But sceptics who doubted that Southampton's favourite son would ever seriously join the Ten Acres crew are about to be proved wrong.

Now that winter has arrived, Le Tiss has got his appetite back for football and he caused a flutter of excitement in the Eastleigh camp yesterday when he put his name forward for Saturday's FA Vase first round tie at home to Deal Town.

Unfortunately, the registration deadline had already passed, making him ineligible to play, but Eastleigh will compensate by getting the area's biggest name to put pen to paper half an hour before kick-off.

It will be by far the Jewson Wessex League's greatest-ever signing coup - and arguably one of the most high-profile scoops in the whole of non-League.

Up until May this year Le Tissier, pictured below, was still a Premiership star with Saints and it was a tribute to his popularity that he bowed out with a sell-out testimonial at St Mary's.

Eastleigh boss Paul Doswell laughed: "I expect people thought I was a conman and that Le Tiss would never play for us, but I knew all along he would. As soon as it started raining and it was too cold to play golf any more, he was on the phone to David Hughes (ex-Saint and Eastleigh assistant manager) saying he'd like to play.

"He's going to train with us tomorrow night and sign on Saturday."