Quotes: Martin Allen on becoming Eastleigh manager

Quotes from Martin Allen's first interview as Eastleigh manager:

“It’s a tough division to get out of, only two do, but to be champions is achievable this season.

"You have to be pretty special to be a champion but we’re only halfway through.

“The crunch time will come towards Easter. That’s when it’s really going to matter and when we find out what we’ve got.

“We’ll see if the teams at the top now can handle the pressure of being at the top because it’s hard being at the top.

"My Barnet team dealt with it because we were top of the league from the first game till the last game.

“We’ve got to come from behind but we will put a run together and these players will challenge, there’s no doubt about that."

Speaking about how he became the Eastleigh boss and looking forward to the FA Cup on Sunday, Allen said: “It was totally out of the blue, I was all set for a quiet weekend with plans to see the family, walk the dogs and tidy up the garden for the winter and here we are now, full-on ready for the FA Cup!

“It’s exciting for the supporters and a big day for the players. I’m sure there’ll be a big crowd.”

Allen has worked with centre back and Eastleigh's record signing Bondz N'Gala at Barnet. The new Spitfires boss said: “Bondz is a very special person to me, he’s one of my champions.

“I’m very close to my players and obviously didn’t want to sell Bondz, but the offer was too high to turn down so Bondz moved on.

“So to see him back here ... he’s a really good player and a really good signing."

Speaking about his squad and the possibility of any new additions, Allen said: “I know all the squad, not personally but as players, and I am going to give everyone here a chance.

“If they train the right way they will earn the right to get a chance and I will play them all.

"At Barnet I had seven teenagers make their debuts in the last year and there are some good young players here.

“I love the young players coming through, we’ll give everyone a chance. Everyone that wants to be here is going to stay.

"We’ll let them all express themselves and they’ll have my full backing.

“I really will help all of them to maximise their abilities and their potential.

"How far can I take them? I’ve no idea. But the owner’s got great plans and a great vision. Long-term, anything is possible with his ambition.

“He’s got tremendous enthusiasm and a very positive attitude. He was very positive about me personally and I want to help him achieve long-term goals.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting journey, of course with some ups and downs along the way - but that’s part and parcel of being a football supporter and a football manager.

“Together we need to work together to galvanise the players and put something in place that the supporters will be proud of.

“We want to make history.

“There are good players here but what I had at Barnet wasn’t about the players, it was about the people.

“We had great characters, good personalities and a fantastic work ethic, unity and team spirit.

“We didn’t have many players for my last home game, only 15 outfield players and two goalies.

"But we had camaraderie, unity and honesty - values that were all put in place from day one.

“That is powerful and only time will tell if we can do that with this group.”