A former England footballer popped into a New Malden school for an afternoon of coaching on Tuesday.

Defender Gareth Southgate, whose career spanned nearly 20 years, went to Corpus Christi School to give specialist tips to budding primary school footballers.

The children, who were chosen to represent Brentford, following a winning spree, were crowned Npower League One kids’ cup south winners and are now preparing for their next big game.

The boys from Corpus Christi will next take on the northern winners, a school representing Coventry City, before the league one playoff final at Wembley on May 19.

Tony Mesourouni, PE teacher and football coach at the school, said: “The session went really well.

"Gareth is more my generation, but I told the kids who he was.

"He did basic drills, dribbling, taking each other on and blocking. It is all really good experience for the kids."

Southgate, who is now an ITV sports pundit, previously played for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough and made 57 England appearances during his career.