EASTLEIGH make the short trip to Woking in the FA Trophy tomorrow having been told “a few home truths” by manager Richard Hill.

But much as the Spitfires boss concedes his side “didn’t play well enough” in Wednesday’s last-ditch 3-2 league defeat at Alfreton, he hasn’t lost sight of the bigger picture.

Whichever way he looks at it, Eastleigh are holding their own very nicely in their maiden season as a Vanarama Conference club.

“I gave the players my honest opinion based on Wednesday’s performance, but don’t lose sight of the fact that it compounds it because we’ve lost two on the spin,” he said.

“But prior to that, if you take the results since our 1-0 defeat at Barnet (on October 4), we haven’t done too badly at all.

“In the eight league games since Barnet we’ve picked up 16 points. Yes, we’ve only taken three of the last nine, but we’ve still been averaging two points a game which is decent.

“We can’t afford too many more performances like Wednesday’s but, as much as we didn’t play particularly well on the night, we could still have come away with a point because we did create chances.

“It’s not an excuse, but Jamie Collins has slipped in at left-back (for Michael Green) and Chris Todd at centre-half (for the suspended Dean Beckwith). These lads will never let you down, but when we were on a good run we had a settled back four.”

Having stumbled out of the FA Cup at Southport last Sunday, the Trophy now represents Eastleigh’s last hope of making an impact in a national cup.

In many ways Hill could do without the distraction as he concentrates on steering his charges up from 11th into the Conference play-off zone, but he said: “I’m paid to win football matches.

“If you want to do anything in the league, the Trophy is a hindrance, no doubt about it. We found that out last season – nearly to our detriment.

“Tomorrow’s not our bread and butter, it’s a cup game, but we have to go into it and do our best.”

Garry Hill’s Woking have also had a dismal week of it, dropping from second to fourth in the Conference after successive 2-1 away defeats at Macclesfield and Forest Green. But Eastleigh’s Hill expects nothing less than a tough assignment tomorrow – and again when the two sides collide in festive league clashes at the Silverlake (December 26, 3pm) and Kingfield (January 1, 3pm).

“Gaz (Hill) is no relation, but I’ve got to know him well over the last ten or 15 years,” said the Spitfires boss. “We speak regularly and he’s been very helpful to me since I’ve been at Eastleigh.

“Gaz likes to play everything down, but any team he manages is a tough opponent. I said to him at the start of the season that if we finished above them in the league we’d be in the play-offs minimum.”

Skipper Beckwith completes his two-match ban tomorrow and Hill must decide whether to risk starting left-back Green, who is being nursed through an ankle problem.

Meanwhile, Eastleigh’s Hampshire FA Senior Cup third round tie against Horndean on Tuesday (December 16) has been switched from Five Heads Park to the Silverlake Stadium.

Should the Spitfires draw tomorrow, the Trophy replay would take priority on Tuesday and the county cup game would be rearranged.