MANAGER Richard Hill believes Eastleigh deserve some credit for “keeping our powder dry” amid a hectic summer transfer market and ensuring there was still money in the kitty to bring in quality ex-Saint Dan Harding.

Left-back Harding, 31, is one of the standout non-League signings of the summer. It was only four years ago that he was voted into the PFA divisional team-of-the-season when Saints clinched promotion from League One.

 

Hill said: “It’s great Dan’s signed a two-year contract with us. It’s not just something he sees as short-term, he wants to be part of something at Eastleigh.

“People had been telling me our squad was too small but, contrary to what some people believe, I do have a budget to stick to and, by me being prudent over the summer, it’s allowed us to sign someone like Dan Harding.

“Stew (chairman Stewart Donald) and I had a feeling a player like Dan would come along that we couldn’t say no to. But if I’d already spent the budget, we wouldn’t have been able to sign him.”

Harding had several offers from Football League clubs – including Portsmouth – but there was no way he could have gone to Fratton Park.

“Portsmouth is a big club and I would imagine they are going to do very well this season, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it,” Harding confessed.

“I had the best three years of my life at Saints and it would not have felt right for me to sign for them.”

Harding’s arrival means the door closes on fellow trialist Aswad Thomas, but Hill was at pains to stress that the former Grimsby and Woking left-back knew all along that the ex-Saint was his number one target.

“If we hadn’t got Dan I would possibly have signed Aswad, but I haven’t lied to him or led him down the garden path. I wouldn’t do that,” he said.

“I hope Aswad gets fixed up somewhere. He deserves to, he’s a good footballer and a nice lad.”

Having reached the play-offs in their maiden top-tier season, Eastleigh know the importance of getting off to a good start if they are to build on that achievement.

But, as much as he wants a positive result this weekend, Hill knows the Spitfires' promotion push will not stand or fall on Saturday's National League opener at Southport.

“These days the pressure to win your first game makes it feel like a one-match season. But we’ve got 46 games to play and, whatever happens tomorrow, we’ve got two home games to come (against Boreham Wood on Tuesday and Lincoln on Saturday)," he said.

“Tomorrow’s going to be tough, it really is, and if we’re not up for the fight we won’t win.”

Midfielder Josh Payne misses out to a one-match suspension carried over from last season but Hill has an otherwise full-strength squad.

Southport have signed 38-year-old defender Gary Jones who boasts 600-plus Football League appearances.