Craig David joined Saints stars Ryan Bertrand , Che Adams and Angus Gunn for a kick-about ahead of his intimate gig at St Mary’s on Thursday night.

A life-long Saints fan, Craig joined his local team in a series of drills and challenges including a penalty shootout, as he limbered up at the Staplewood Training Ground, in preparation for his performance.

While being put through his paces by the team, he went head to head with Ryan and Adams, and scored a penalty against Gunn. Craig, who wrote his critically acclaimed debut album ‘Born To Do It’, including chart toppers 7Days, Fill Me In and Walking Away in the city, returned home to perform his iconic TS5 set for Virgin Media in a bespoke venue built within the grounds of St Mary’s stadium, allowing fans to get up close and personal.

The performance celebrated the switching on of Virgin Media’s gigabit broadband service, which launched in Southampton last week, with residents being the first to benefit from the UK’s fastest broadband speeds.

Craig said: “I’ve been a Saints fan all my life so to play a gig at St Mary’s Stadium to celebrate bringing my hometown the best connection in the UK is amazing. I have nothing but fantastic memories in Southampton and I hope the night was unforgettable for everyone.”

Jeff Dodds, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Media, added: “We have deep connection with Southampton, so bringing Craig back home to perform and seeing him on the pitch showing off his skills with the Saints just topped off this amazing day for the city.”

A major pillar of Virgin Media’s sponsorship of Southampton Football Club over the past three years has been rewarding the dedicated and loyal support of Saints fans.

The recently launched ‘Super Saints’ campaign recognises Saints’ passionate support with a range of money-can’t-buy experiences as well as unique fan competitions and exclusive behind the scenes content.