Somersfield Academy’s over-13 football team were treated to a special visit from former England international Paul Mariner.

Mariner, who also played for Arsenal, Portsmouth and Ipswich Town, where he won both the FA and UEFA Cup with, visited the school prior to the team’s 1-0 win against Whitney Institute.

The former centre forward, who featured in the 1982 World Cup and represented England 35 times, scoring 13 goals, gave time to talk to the team about some of the characteristics that make up a good footballer including humility, dedication, perseverance and the personality of the individual.

The former coach of Major League Soccer sides New England Revolution and FC Toronto also reflected how to overcome adversity during a match and get back to basics of what they had learned.