Matt Le Tissier has admitted that he will consider playing more than six games for Eastleigh this season if his competitive debut goes well.

Saints legend Le Tissier, 34, will line up behind the front two at the Ten Acres ground in Stoneham Lane tonight, his first run out since playing in a pre-season friendly against Bashley.

And Eastleigh are expecting a record crowd - possibly even 2,000 - for the Hampshire Senior Cup clash against Newport IOW (7.45pm).

Manager Paul Doswell has promised that Le Tissier will start, and said: "Matt's had three training sessions with us and looked good. He'll play until he is tired - whether that's after three minutes or 90."

Le Tissier's ambassadorial commitments with Saints mean that he cannot play on a weekly basis for Eastleigh.

But, if all goes well, he may be available for more than the six games he originally felt he would play.

He said: "I'm looking forward to it and will probably play more than half a dozen games if I enjoy it.

"I found myself next to Paul Doswell at the traffic lights on the way back from the golf course and he told me through the car window that we'd be playing 3-5-2 and I'd be playing behind the strikers.

"I've been to a couple of training sessions but unfortunately I'm not very good with names.

"I know the ex-Saints players like Christer Warren and Sam Carter but at the moment I don't know many others. I'm just going to have to learn quickly.

"My only exercise since retiring has been five rounds of golf a week other than a couple of training sessions.

"So this doesn't compare to my Saints debut at all - I'm not being paid for a start!

"It's going to make a refreshing change to play a few games without the pressure of playing for a side that need every point they can get.

"It'll be like going back to my amateur days when I was playing in the Channel Islands."

The Saints-Eastleigh connections don't end with Le Tissier.

Jason Dodd coached the Jewson Wessex league leaders' back four within 24 hours of helping Saints to a 1-0 win at Aston Villa last week and assistant manager and former Saints midfielder David Hughes has persuaded James Beattie and Wayne Bridge to coach the strikers and the full backs/midfielders.

Doswell said: "All credit to the Saints lads, they've all got their feet on the ground - which is what makes Saints Saints - but we wouldn't have Matt playing tonight if it wasn't for David Hughes."

Doswell added: "Originally I was expecting a crowd of around 800-1,000 but we've had so much coverage that we might even have 2,000 there.

"If you can't get excited about this, you will never be excited about anything.

But I'd urge people to get there as early as possible because if everyone turns up at the same time it's going to be a nightmare.

"We're going to try and get as many cars as possible parked in the ground itself, but there is also parking available at Trojans and Wellington on the other side of Stoneham Lane.

"It's advisable for fans to come to the ground via Bassett Green Road."