EX-Saint Pedro ‘Pele’ Monteiro will make his AFC Totton debut in front of a 1,000-plus crowd at Testwood Park tomorrow.

The central defender/midfielder joined from Havant & Waterlooville last month to play for the club whose Under-16s he coaches through the club’s partnership with Matt Le Tissier Natural Coaching.

Now, a decade after his one season with Saints in the Championship, he is set to make his Southern League (S & W) bow against Hereford.

A big crowd is expected for the visit from the club formed in the wake of the demise of Hereford United.

Last season’s Midland Football League Premier champions and FA Vase runners-up are expected to bring with them a crowd of 600.

Manager Steve Hollick said: “It’s a nice one to start the season with. With Salisbury also coming into the league it’s good to see two big clubs getting back on their feet. Our problems haven’t been as severe but we’re also in a good place now. We don’t want to get carried away but we have a good infrastructure with good people in all positions and a lot of support from the chairman and committee.”

Totton hope to have as many fans in attendance as their illustrious visitors.

“It would be good to match them vocally if not numerically,” added Hollick.

Hollick is also hoping for an improvement on last season’s 15th place. “We know we under-achieved so the aim is to improve on that,” he added.

Mark Gamble is unavailable tomorrow following a clear-out operation on his ankle and Dylan Knight has not recovered from the dislocated shoulder he suffered in pre-season.