Another big crowd is expected at Kayte Lane tomorrow when Manchester United Legends rock up for a very special occasion.

A team including the likes of Wes Brown, David May and Lee Martin will take on Bishop’s Cleeve Legends as part of the Gloucestershire club’s 120th anniversary celebrations.

Cleeve's fans turned out in their numbers for high-profile games against Torquay United, Evesham United and Malvern Town last season and Paul Collicutt, who is managing Bishop’s Cleeve Legends, said: “It would be great if we could get upwards of 1,000 at the game.”

And with the heatwave set to continue there is every chance that Kayte Lane will once again be close to capacity ahead of the 2pm kick-off.

“I’m really looking forward to it and the players are really looking forward to it,” continued Collicutt, who has just guided the club’s flagship men’s team to a third place finish in Division One of the Southern League, their best ever finish.

“We’ve got a squad of about 25 players. We’ve had two training sessions and the atmosphere in the changing room has been absolutely brilliant.

“Some of them hadn’t seen each other for five, 10 or 15 years but the camaraderie between them is second to none.”

Collicutt says his players' ages range from about 40 to late 50s and they include the likes of James Verseci, Mitch Counsell and Kevin Slack.

“All the players who are playing tomorrow have played for me in the past,” said Collicutt, who is in his second spell as manager of the club.

“Hopefully they can show people they can still play a bit, they’re really up for it”

Tomorrow’s game is certainly a very big deal for the players, players for whom Collicutt has a huge amount of respect.

“Some of these lads kept the club alive,” said Collicutt, who first became manager more than 25 years ago.

“Twenty to 25 years ago the club was on its knees, it was close to folding.

“We kept a nucleus of players together and we started to climb the leagues.

“We won Division One of the Hellenic League and then the Premier Division to secure Southern League status.

“When I started there was just a man and a dog watching, we didn’t have a ground, we travelled all over the county.

“But we kept going, it was hard but it speaks volumes about this group of lads.

“They are a massive part of where we are now as a club.”

A number of the club’s current players are expected to watch the game tomorrow with Collicutt adding: “It’s a 90-minute game but I think we’ll probably have breaks after every 15 minutes.”

The Manchester United Legends are set to include the likes of Russell Beardsmore, Luke Chadwick and Ben Thornley, as well as Danny Simpson, who went on to win the Premier League with Leicester City in 2015/16.

Collicutt is a lifelong Manchester United fan and remembers many of the great players of yesteryear.

And tomorrow’s game won’t be the first time that he has shared centre stage with players from one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“I played in the same side as Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles in a match at Whaddon Road,” said Collicutt. 

“It was a testimonial game for Pat Casey and Dave Lewis, I played left-back."

That was in May 1977 and Collicutt continued: “I’d made by debut for Cheltenham when I was 16 but I signed for Swindon when I was 17.

“I was invited back to play for the Ted Croker XI, Roger Hunt also played. Bobby Charlton was 40-something but his vision and passing was unbelievable.

“He was way, way out of my league, he was brilliant.”