Change of direction for Spitfires?

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By Wendy Gee -

IAN Baird concedes it's not beyond the realms of possibility that some of his Eastleigh troops could be playing their last game for the club at Bromley tomorrow.

The Spitfires have little more than pride to play for having failed in their mission to reach the Blue Square Bet South play-offs for a second season running.

Discussions are ongoing between manager Baird, chairman Paul Murray and directors David Malone and Mick Budny to decide where the club go from here.

It's now six years since the Spitfires were promoted via the Isthmian Premier play-offs, and it could be that a change of direction is needed if they are to reach the promised land of the Conference National.

Talks are continuing today and sources suggest a major announcement regarding Eastleigh's future plans will be made next week.

That could well mean a few established players moving on, opening the for for an infusion of fresh blood.

Baird was giving nothing away, but agreed it was certainly a possibility that some players could be leaving.

Eastleigh's more immediate concern is ending the season on a high note with victory at tenth-placed Bromley.

It's the last game and we owe it to our supporters to go out with a bit of pride," said Baird.

"We did it when we beat Hampton & Richmond 3-0 on Monday and we need to repeat that at Bromley.

"We know we've failed in our objective, but we won't just lie down and take it easy in the last game. I won't allow that to happen.

"We've got a good set of lads and they'll be disappointed to have fallen at the last hurdle. But, at the end of the day, the sides who've finished above us are all bigger clubs with bigger budgets.

"We had to sell one of our best strikers (Brett Williams to Reading) because we didn't want to stand in his way.

"And I was very disappointed with losing to Chasetown in the FA Trophy. We had a great opportunity to progress to the quarter-finals but, for some reason, we failed in that too.

"There are a couple of options open to us going forward and that's what we're discussing."

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