Southampton FC fans have seen many great players grace either The Dell or St Mary’s over the course of the club’s long history, and several of the current squad are looking to stamp their names into legend.

Saints have had a difficult recent history, with the South Coast club relegated from the Premier League to the Championship twice in three seasons.

In between those, of course, was their 1-0 victory over Leeds United in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium in May 2024, the club’s first season in the EFL since 2012, when they achieved the extraordinary achievement of back-to-back promotions under Nigel Adkins.

During Southampton’s rebuilding period following their relegation to League One in 2009 due to financial difficulties, a select number of players would emerge as cult heroes for their roles in quickly restoring the club’s fortunes.

It has been well documented how many current and former Premier League and international stars can credit Saints for their contributions to their own careers, with Gareth Bale, Luke Shaw, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Theo Walcott being among the most notable examples.

However, with Tonda Eckert’s current Saints squad in the midst of the season’s final international break ahead of next week’s FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, locals were given the opportunity to welcome back a pool of iconic players who have worn the red and white stripes down the years on Saturday afternoon in a ‘legends match’ against a squad made up of ex-Manchester United stars.

Rickie Lambert writes a ’emotional’ message for Southampton FC following England’s surprising return to St Mary’s.

This battle of past players drew over 13,000 spectators, with the Red Devils’ legends squad winning 5-3.

Lee Barnard and Rickie Lambert were the two former Saints players to score in the encounter, with the former scoring twice, while United’s five goals came from Phil Bardsley and Frazier Campbell, before Darron Gibson capped an entertaining afternoon for everybody involved.

The match also saw the Saints raise funds for their 1976 FA Cup-winning squad, which overcame United in the final, as part of a 50th anniversary commemoration, while the North West side raised donations for the Manchester United Foundation.

However, scoring again at St Mary’s after previously scoring 117 goals in 235 games for the club was not Lambert’s only highlight, as he was given with his ‘legacy cap’ after previously representing England 11 times and scoring three goals for the Three Lions.

A member of the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad in Brazil responded to a video on social media.”It was a complete surprise and a little emotional to be presented that Saturday in front of the Saints fans, as well as my mother, father, and son Maison,” Lambert said.

“Such a special moment that meant a lot thank you again @SouthamptonFC,” he tweeted afterwards.

Rickie Lambert will hope that Southampton’s current side can match his St Mary’s success

Lambert’s time at St Mary’s exemplified the club’s fast return to the top division; he arrived from Bristol Rovers for more over £1 million in August 2009 before joining Liverpool just under five years later.

Given his goal-scoring brilliance for Saints, critics claimed that the £4 million transfer to Anfield was far too low, but the striker struggled to repeat similar success on Merseyside under Brendan Rodgers.

At this point, however, Lambert will undoubtedly be rooting for his former side to reclaim promotion to the Premier League in order to reestablish themselves among the elite.

With seven games remaining, they are in a tight race for the play-offs alongside Hull City, Wrexham, and Derby County.