ASPIRING young footballers from Greenmeadow Youth got a chance to meet a true England legend when Stuart Psycho' Pearce came to Swindon.

The former England full-back and current under-21 boss took time out of his busy schedule to give a coaching session to Greenmeadow Under 13s, thanks to a competition run jointly by the Advertiser and England sponsors Nationwide.

The secret session took place on Monday afternoon at Nationwide Pavilion, where Pearce spent over an hour working closely with the group of star-struck youngsters.

Parents, coaches and volunteers from Greenmeadow were also in attendance, all of them wanting to catch a glimpse of the former World Cup star in action.

Pearce, who lives near Hungerford, told the Advertiser he was hugely impressed with the standard of young talent on display.

Speaking at a sponsoredbyyou.com coaching visit organised by England Team Sponsors Nationwide, he said: "I will be the first to admit, I'm probably not the best coach of very young players. It's an art in itself really.

"The two lads that take the team here are great though. They coach them very well from I what I can see.

"The attitude of the players was first class. They all seem to be enjoying their football and that's what it's all about."

Pearce believes it is vital for youngsters to have access to high quality coaching from an early age, to enable them to make the most of their potential.

"Even boys and girls as young as six or seven need to have good coaching," he said.

"They need coaching that will help them to improve and to enjoy themselves.

"If the coaching is of a good standard and enjoyable, I don't think you can be over-coached.

"If you get them having fun and wanting to come back the next day you are already halfway there."

Greenmeadow head coach Paul Merchant has seen his side reach three cup finals in the last three years, but running a session with Pearce was definitely the highlight of his coaching career to date.

He said: "It was absolutely fantastic, the best day we have had in a long, long time.

"We entered a competition through the Advertiser, and had a fantastic phone call on Friday afternoon to say we had won.

"Ever since the boys heard about it they must have asked me 50 times is he really coming?

"Now that he's done the session the boys will be to look back on this as a special day.

"I'm chuffed for them because they work hard all season. My job is the easy one, I just turn up and coach them."

But it wasn't just the players who enjoyed Psycho's visit. Paul and the other coaching staff were equally thrilled to meet one of their heroes.

"It's nice for me to sit back and watch someone else at work for a change," he said.

"You couldn't ask for a better coach that Stuart Pearce, could you?"