The former England striker got to the Final of The FA Vase with Southall in 1986, whilst making his way up the football ladder.

The 37-year-old recalled his appearance in the Final of the prestigious non-League cup competition at Wembley.

He said: "It’s always been a special competition for me, going back to when I was a Finalist with Southall when I was just 18 years old. Unfortunately we lost 3-0 to Halesowen Town! It seems like yesterday even though I'm coming to the end of my own career now.

"Our team was a little bit in awe of playing at Wembley. I know I certainly was. Our coach had watched our opponents a couple of times and really talked them up! Halesowen were the Vase holders and had some ex-professional players, so they had so much more experience than us.

"In a way I suppose we had lost the game before we even went out on the pitch. We were nervous and just didn’t think we could win.

"I know it was a sunny afternoon at Wembley but I don’t remember that much about the game. It seemed we had very few chances to score."

"I would like to wish all the teams good luck in getting to the Final. It’s a great occasion and certainly spurred me on to go on and do the things I have done in football."

After his success with Southall, he moved to Hayes where he was spotted and taken on by Queens Park Rangers.

Les went on to play for Brentford, Turkish side Besiktas, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham. It was with Spurs that he won his first silverware in England, beating Leicester in the Worthington Cup Final in 1999.

Les has been capped 17 times by England and scored the first of five goals for his country on his international debut against San Marino.

After claiming the 10,000th Premiership goal, collecting a runners-up medal in the 2002 League Cup and topping Tottenham’s scoring charts, Les moved to West Ham midway through last season.

He signed a one-year contract with Leicester City in the summer following West Ham’s relegation from the Premiership and has brought a wealth of knowledge of top-flight football to the Walkers Stadium.

Les made the draw for the penultimate stage of the 30th season of The FA Vase at The FA’s headquarters at Soho Square.

The favourites – AFC Sudbury and Winchester City – avoided each other in the draw.

AFC Sudbury will face the winners of tomorrow night’s quarter-final replay between Colne and Eastwood Town.

The is the third successive season that Eastern Counties Premier side AFC Sudbury have reached the last four. Last season they were beaten 2-1 by Brigg Town in the Final at West Ham.

AFC Sudbury were made to work for their semi-final spot by Kent Premier side Cray Wanderers on Saturday, eventually winning 2-0 after extra time.

The replay will be at Eastwood Town, from the Northern Counties East Premier, at 7.45pm after the tie against the North West Counties Division Two side ended 4-4 after extra time.

Winchester City will face Bideford in the semi-finals. Winchester, who were knocked out of the quarter-finals last season as FA Vase newcomers, saw off their Wessex League rivals Andover 5-1.

Western Premier side Bideford, who had never reached the quarter-finals before, beat Wessex League outfit Gosport Borough 3-0 in front of a home crowd of 1,211.

Eight of the Bideford players won The FA Vase with Taunton Town in 2001, beating Berkhamsted Town 2-1 at Villa Park.

The semi-finals of The FA Vase will be played over two legs on Saturdays, 13 and 20 March, with the overall semi-final winners being awarded £6,000 each in prize money by The FA.

The Final will be played at Birmingham City FC on Sunday, 16 May, kick-off 3pm. It was due to have been played at West Ham United FC for the second consecutive season on Saturday, 15 May.

A decision was subsequently taken by The FA to move the Final as the Division One side could be involved in the play-offs for a Premiership place on the same date.

Birmingham City, where The FA’s competition partner Carlsberg is the Official Beer, was chosen as a replacement venue due to its Premiership status and central location.

The date for the Final has been changed on the advice of local police, due to Aston Villa being scheduled to play Manchester United at home in the Premiership on 15 May.

As the competition celebrates its 30th season, The FA has dramatically increased the total prize fund, highlighting its continued support for this level of the game.

The significant rise in prize money of £197,000 to £350,000 gives clubs the chance to earn greater rewards for achieving success at every round.

This is the ninth consecutive season that Carlsberg has been The FA’s presenting partner for The FA Vase. It forms an integral part of their support of football in this country.

Carlsberg is also The FA’s presenting partner for The FA Trophy and The FA Sunday Cup, highlighting their commitment to non-League and grassroots football.