GORDON Steel's number one love is football, even if he is a Middlesbrough season ticket holder.

He has played the game for years - "to a good standard I might say, as a fast and tricky winger" - and he has been watching the Boro since 1965 when his father introduced him to the joys of the Ayresome Park boys' pen.

So it was only a matter of time before the North Eastern playwright and theatre director turned his attention to Pele's beautiful game and the not-so-beautiful players of the Sunday leagues.

That play is Studs, a comic football drama with a typically powerful kick from the writer of box-office hits Dead Fish and Like A Virgin. Last night the world premiere made its debut at Hull Truck Theatre.

"I've always hinted at my love of football, such as the references to Middlesbrough in Dead Fish, but Studs is more closely related to it," says Steel.

The Studs of the title are the players of the Grange Bankers football team. As thick as Premier League pay packets, these likely lads strive to strut their stuff on and off the pitch but their weekend obsession wreaks havoc on relationships with team mates and 'lady loves' alike.

In a play of short, sharp scenes, there is only one match scene, right at the start, because Steel "didn't want to create the Up'n'Under of football". For the rest of the play, the game is seen through the eyes of the girlfriends, and for all the humour, it is not a pretty picture they portray.

"The play is more to do with the issues that surround football, like trust, loyalty, dedication and pulling together. It shows how one little mistake can escalate into huge consequences," says Gordon. "So, as with my past plays, you have that comic surface but something darker kicking away underneath.

"You adopt the philosophy of trying to make it real; you don't try to be clever, and you make sure your mates don't walk out after ten minutes!"

His mates haven't given any of his plays the red-card treatment so far, and Studs is unlikely to change that, even if likely lads are left with plenty of food for thought. "The Studs start off as macho guys who don't give a damn, but when they find they might lose their girlfriends, they realise they care more than they thought," Steel says.

Studs runs at Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, until February 3, kick-off 8pm. Box office: 01482 323638.