Saints legend Francis Benali has been a labelled a “phenomenon, crackers and insane” by fellow club icon and dear friend Matthew Le Tisser as he looks to visit five Premier Stadiums in one day in an attempt to complete his 1,000-mile running challenge.

Le Tissier, who scored 209 goals in more than 500 appearances for Saints, joined Benali for a second time yesterday for a 20-mile stint as Franny reached QPR’s Loftus Road and club 14 of 20 of Benali’s Big Challenge.

Le Tiss has never doubted that the 45-year-old former Dell full back has what it takes to complete the epic, which has seen him run 40 to 50 miles on 18 consecutive days so far.

Today Franny is hoping to visit Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane, West Ham’s Upton Park, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge and Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park as he nears the climax of the challenge that ends at St Mary’s on Saturday when Saints take on Newcastle.

At the end he’d have run the equivalent of 35 marathons in three weeks as he looks to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Le Tiss has been in awe of what his friend has achieved after joining him to run across west London.

“He’s amazing,” he said.

“What he’s been through these last 18 days and I’m still trying to hang on to his coat tails when he’s running.

“Its crackers, it’s insane, the boy is phenomenal in what he’s doing.”

Asked if he has any doubt to whether Benali will cross the finish line, he said: “Not really, I didn’t have any doubt when he started.

“Obviously the injury is a bit of a concern and he had a moment when he was in a fair bit of pain today, before he got super physio to give him a bit of treatment.

“He’s been incredible.”

Benali is now just three days away from completing the epic task.

After entering London, he said: “We’ve had the quietness of the open countryside that has been amazing and beautiful.

“But coming into London is something I’ve been looking forward to.

“It’s because there’s a lot clubs to go to and tick off the list and you know you’re a couple of days away from arriving home at St Mary’s.

“There’s been a lot struggles.

“Once the clubs are done tomorrow, it will really be heading home.

“Heading south and stopping around Alton and then it will quite literally be down to Southampton after that.

“There’s a number of clubs I’ve not played at and I look forward to seeing a set of floodlights. That’s a great feeling and you know you’ve got another done.”

To sponsor Franny, text BIGR55 followed by the amount you would like to donate (e.g. BIGR55 £5) to 70070.

Alternatively, visit benalisbigrun.com where you can also chart his progress.