LEE Richardson says that he has been humbled by the support he has received ahead of his testimonial match tonight.

The Swindon Wildcats stalwart will take to the ice this evening (5.45pm) alongside former and current teammates to celebrate more than 20 years with the Link Centre side.

The game, which will see Richardson ice alongside his brothers Mark – who plays for Great Britain and Cardiff Devils – and Grant, who plays for Bristol Pitbulls, will be played in front of packed-out crowd.

“It is mind-blowing to know that people are taking time out of their lives to come and support me,” Richardson said.

“I have got Euan Forsyth flying down from Edinburgh to take part and Joe (Jozef) Kohut flew in on Friday from Slovakia to play.

“Joe was the first big player that I really got to play alongside at Swindon – it was a big deal when we got him.

“So to see him again will be fantastic.

“The fans too, on Friday morning there were only about 50 tickets left. There are fans coming from Guildford, Coventry and Basingstoke as well.

“I’m really thankful for everyone’s support, to be honest it is quite humbling.”

Richardson, who will lead Team Swindon and will have his two young boys, four-year-old Max and two-year-old Zach, as mascot, admits the last few days of organising the game have been quite stressful.

“There is a lot of work that goes into trying to organise 40 people and getting them in the right place at the right time,” said the 34-year-old, who will go up against an All Stars team that includes Daryl Lipsey, Hilton Ruggles, Jan Kostal and Max Birbaer.

“I know I have been quite lucky, I have sent out messages and the response has been great - the fans too, I didn’t expect it.

“I first joined the club 27 years ago, I went away for five years and coming back and getting this testimonial is the highest honour I could get.

“I’m from Swindon, grew up here and have played for the club since I was a kid.

“I just want to make sure that there will be something for everyone, whether it be the old players, the Swindon boys – having a team of players from Swindon was so important to me – or the skills contest.

“All this has gone beyond all expectations and I hope everyone will enjoy themselves.”