MATT Le Tissier has revealed he lost nearly two stone during the making Harry’s Heroes: The Full English, which will be on ITV for the next two nights.

The Saints legend is amongst a group of former England players who are put through a rigorous boot camp before playing arch-rivals Germany.

Managed by Harry Redknapp and his assistant John Barnes, they also play Crystal Palace Ladies and an Under-16s team before taking on the Germans one last time.

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“It was a lot of fun, we had a real good laugh,” says Le Tissier, who was reunited with former Saints teammates Mark Wright and Neil Ruddock as well as the likes of Lee Sharpe, David Seaman and Chris Waddle.

“The idea of the programme was to try and get lazy, fat middle-aged men to get back exercising," he explains.

“There was a picture of us all in The Sun with our starting weights which said mine was 15 stone 9lb but according to my scales I was 16 stone 1lb and at the end of the process I was 14 stone 3lb.

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“That was over 11 weeks. I had a personal trainer who I met a couple of times a week as well as all the other stuff we were doing on the show with the other lads. I got my serious head on for a few months, ate sensibly and exercised."

Le Tissier also enjoyed the camaraderie alongside many former teammates.

"I played with or against all the lads and was in the England squad with most of them at some point so it was nice to be back amongst that kind of team spirit," he added.

How did you find the whole match-fit experience?

“I really enjoyed it to be honest, it gave me a focus, I’ve always struggled with my weight since I retired, it gave me a nice focus to lose some serious poundage.”

In terms of the dieting, was it a big shock to what you were consuming compared to what you should be?

“Yeah, it was a huge difference really, you'll see in the programme, my weekly intake of food...I mean that’s what I was doing, and the reason why I was so overweight. Obviously it was a huge change to go from that to eating far more healthily, when the weight starts dropping off it keeps you interested.”

How different were the modern day training methods different to what you were used to back in the day?

“There is so much more detail available to you now, so much more science behind it all. Back in the day we were weighed on a Monday morning and then on a Friday, as long as your weight wasn’t going up nobody really cared about how that weight was made up. Towards the back end of my career things started to become a bit more serious, taking body fat percentages but for the majority of my career, as long as you make your weight, it didn’t really matter. I used to play tennis on a Sunday night then go and sit in the sauna, and then on the Monday morning my weight was okay...it’s crazy looking back.”

Have your family noticed a difference, since the training and have you taken on any of the methods?

“I've certainly not slipped back into the way I was eating before, but I would be lying if I said I don’t get the odd treat here and there. But it’s something I have definitely learnt that it wasn’t doing me any good. There is still a change in my diet, it’s probably not as drastic, so I have allowed some treats back in, but for the main part I’ve learnt my lesson. More monitored.”

Have you learnt anything new about healthy eating?

“I think it really is just the consumption, portion sizes really, the sizes of the portions I was eating way too many calories and not the right kind of calories. So the biggest thing for me was cutting down portions and having a better balance of protein in my diet, that there probably wasn’t enough of before.”

Was there any competition between the lads to lose the most weight?

“There wasn’t any massive competition going on, everyone was very supportive of each other. Doing the best that they can, people lose weight at different rates, I'm one of those fortunate people that when I put my mind to it, I can lose weight pretty quickly. Some people aren’t as lucky, however if I don’t do the right things, the opposite can happen, and can put on weight really quick. It was just a very personal thing.”

Are you glad you played during your time or would you have rather played now?

“I think in today’s football I would have had to be more of an athlete than I was, which would’ve happened because I would’ve been desperate to play football. However looking back, I had such a good time that I couldn’t wish to play in any different era, whether that be before mine or after mine. It was such a cracking time to play, football has become a little bit soft, new laws, and that probably would’ve suited me as a ball player, with people getting punished far more easily, for tackles and cards being handed out. But no I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”

Harry's Heroes: The Full English is on ITV at 9pm tonight and tomorrow night.