Eastleigh supporters have had to be rather patient so far this summer, but after falling below expectation last season, can they bounce back and achieve their play-off goals?

This is part eight of our countdown to the 2024/25 National League season, covering one team each day until the day before the brand new campaign kicks off. You can access yesterday’s Dagenham & Redbridge focussed piece by clicking here.

Today, it’s time to turn our attention to Eastleigh, what they can bring to the National League this season and more specifically what the club should be aiming towards this season.

Let’s begin…

How did Eastleigh fare last season?

The previous campaign began with a lot of promise for Eastleigh, landing the likes of Paul McCallum, Jake Taylor and Enzio Boldewijn in the hope of finishing inside of the play-off places but sadly this didn’t occur.

Instead, Eastleigh had several different managers and ultimately ended the campaign in 13th, losing 19 league games and conceding a draw-dropping 87 goals.

This meant that the Spitfires had the second-worst defence in the entire division, with only Oxford City conceding more goals (94), likely suggesting why they fell so far behind their expectations.

In a positive light, the club also had the division’s top goal scorer in the form of Paul McCallum, who managed 31 league goals, which meant that he scored 42.5% of Eastleigh’s league goals.

Summer transfer activity thus far:

Following their frustrating league placement, Eastleigh wasted no time in beginning their latest rebuild job and this time – they showed zero mercy.

In total, Kelvin Davis’ side released 12 players with three other loanees all returning to their parent clubs. Included in this, were several big names including George Langston, Oscar Rutherford and Enzio Boldewijn with all three of them being snapped up by rival clubs.

Corey Panter and Tommy Scott were both offered new contracts and have subsequently retained their status as Eastleigh players heading into the new season.

Fortunately, Eastleigh haven’t lost any other of their first-team squad despite social media speculation suggesting that Southend United had eyes on Paul McCallum.

On a more positive note, Eastleigh have been busy this summer despite am initial slow start, landing six new players. Amongst them are Deji Sotona (Doncaster) who won promotion with Boston United last season, former Solihull Moors loanee Tyrese Shade and experienced defender Richard Brindley.

Also joining the National League side were; Luis Fernandez (Hampton & Richmond), Angel Waruih (Brentford) and Lloyd Humphries (Weston Super-Mare).

Verdict so far: Following their disappointing 2023/24 campaign, Eastleigh (in my opinion) had to make a statement and I thoroughly believe they have done that with the names of the players they have released.

All three left a hole in the Eastleigh side that had to be filled. Langston has been replaced by Brindley which is a transfer I really like, especially when he had EFL offers whilst Enzio Boldewijn was replaced by Tyrese Shade.

Hanging onto Paul McCallum will arguably be one of the strongest pieces of business that Eastleigh can do this summer because he guarantees goals.

The issue is, I still believe they need to focus defensively with at least one new addition in that area before their season begins.

Pre-Season 2024:

Eastleigh’s pre-season has been less active than the majority of their National League counterparts so far, playing just two friendlies so far.

The Spitfires began with a 4-2 away victory against Wimborne Town, with Shade finding his feet in a strong away performance by the National League side. However, their unbeaten record didn’t last long as they hosted Premier League side Southampton – losing 7-1.

Watching a handful of the goals, it appears as though the Eastleigh defence struggled as a unit which isn’t necessarily a surprise given the nature of their opponents, but sometimes you may need a lesson like that to be able to learn and grow from it moving forward.

Eastleigh travel to Weymouth this evening (23rd July), before facing League Two side Swindon Town (28th July), Chippenham Town (30th July) and Exeter City (3rd August).

Verdict: Kelvin Davis’ side will learn a lot more from the defeat against Southampton than they will from their win against Wimborne Town.

Playing against better opponents in pre-season will almost always see you lose, but it will teach you a lot about your side’s ability to bounce back, compete and challenge the tougher sides.

Admittedly, losing 7-1 wouldn’t have been an ideal scenario for Eastleigh at all, but a result like that could be all that Eastleigh need to kick on and have a much better campaign moving forward.

Star player:

As much as Eastleigh have several players that could have been selected here, I can’t choose a ‘star player’ correctly if I don’t pick the division’s Golden Boot winner Paul McCallum.

McCallum is a proven National League goalscorer, just like Billy Sharp was in the EFL and keeping him in the building will do a major deal of good for Eastleigh because his departure would cause a major issue within the team.

The forward scored 31 times last season, including hat-tricks against Solihull Moors, Ebbsfleet United and Dagenham & Redbridge and single-handedly won his side a lot of points last season.

As much as Eastleigh need to improve defensively, they cannot afford for their goals to ‘dry up’, which is why Paul McCallum is going to be essential to their push for promotion this season.

What do Eastleigh fans think of their sides’ chances this season?

Whilst I have my own views on Eastleigh, it is also important to learn what their supporters are expecting this season. Therefore, I spoke to Eastleigh fan @mwoot_17 on Twitter, who stated…

“Overall I think a high mid-table finish is where we are likely to end up, with new management and recruitment helping to improve the side compared to last season.

“The new signings mainly being younger players such as Tyrese Shade and Deji Sotona which contrasts with the ageing squad of last season.

“Similarly, the new recruitment model (signing lower league talent) and McCallum looking likely to stay will hopefully show an improvement in quality.

“Kelvin Davis’ inexperience and the personnel we have lost such as Oscar Rutherford and Enzio Boldewijn shows that despite improvements the play-offs could potentially be a bridge too far and we will most likely finish around 9th or 10th.”

Where do I think Eastleigh will finish?

In all fairness, I have to say that I agree with the fan expectations myself. Eastleigh have managed to let a lot of ineffective players leave the club but have equally lost three first-team regulars and those are always the most difficult to replace.

Whilst I thoroughly believe that Eastleigh have made some strong acquisitions so far this summer, I still believe that they need to bring in better defensive options to make sure they don’t repeat the mistakes that were made last season.

With McCallum in the team, Eastleigh are always going to score goals – but they need to be helped out defensively. For example, even with McCallum, it still feels as though Eastleigh will have games where they will need to score three or four goals to win because of the defence.

As much as Eastleigh have some talented options at their disposal heading into the new season, I still believe they will fall short of the play-off places at this current moment in time, though that has the capacity to change if players are recruited.

Therefore, I believe Eastleigh should be aiming for 10th place in my personal opinion.

Eastleigh fans, where do you think you will finish this season?