He was one of the most gifted players of his generation, and Matt Le Tissier is now giving even more youngsters the chance to develop under his footballing philosophy.

The Saints legend has announced an expansion of his Natural Coaching school, which is now into its third year of existence.

Le Tissier and his coaching staff will open a new branch of their academy next month, at Arnewood School, in New Milton, and are about to start the search for their new students.

They will teach talented boys and girls from under-7s to under-12s on Tuesday nights, building on the original and existing set-up at Toynbee School, in Southampton.

Le Tissier, who will be holding trials next month to select about 20 children for each age group, explained how he wants young players to be encouraged to play the game like he did, by expressing themselves on the pitch.

“We just wanted to give the kids an environment to learn how to become better players – where they are not frightened to try things, or worried they will be shouted at by their coach if they give the ball away,” he said.

“We don’t want them to be frightened to try some of the skills they have seen from players in places like the Premier League or La Liga.

“We want to give them the freedom to become the best player they can be and the environment where they can achieve that.”

Le Tissier’s “play with freedom” philosophy has already led to some significant success.

“I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but we are well into double figures in terms of players signed by clubs on the south coast, so we’ve been pretty productive so far,” he said.

“The clubs nearby will have their eyes on the best players around, but it’s good that we’ve managed to bring in a whole new group, developed them and seen some of them taken on by those clubs, whereas before they might have slipped through the net.

“When we started, the oldest age group was under-12s, so hopefully in three or four years we might see someone who’s come through our system make their debut in the Football League, or even the Premier League.

“We know they won’t all get there, but the main thing for us is to help these kids be the best players they can be.”

Since setting up the school, Le Tissier has developed an extensive coaching team, led by former Saints teammate Francis Benal and the experienced Jody Rivers.

He also calls upon the likes of ex-Saints Pele and Keith Granger, the latter of who heads up the goalkeeping coaching, while he explained that they also look to keep their sessions fresh by bringing in guest coaches from time to time.

Trials for the New Milton-based Matt Le Tissier Natural Coaching academy will take place on Tuesday, March 10, and Tuesday, March 17.

A new four-to-six-year-old mini football centre is also being set up at Toynbee, where a fresh intake of under-seven students is also being sought for this year.

To register for the trials, and to find full details, visit mltnaturalcoaching.com or call Steve Phillips on 07415 888851.