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How do you enhance a outstanding veteran side that have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a group of ex- professionals that have performed at the elite level of club and global football as you target more trophies.

One Greater Manchester side fields an non-professional vets squad with 9 former Premier League footballers in their current roster.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 International Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Premier Division.

The lineup this campaign boasts nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined over 1,800 elite games.

This high-profile roster also contains over 220 Premier League goals and 325 international appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their last home game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a six-two win - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have won 15 major trophies and moved for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this season through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still love the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who come and see are happy and to make someone's day if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

"The running is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.

The team are top of the Premier Division with three victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player.

"I think I was a little starstruck facing him to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has over 60 English caps.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a bunch of regular fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the return match."

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Premier Division title the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil up and had a