RICHARD Hill had to choose his words carefully when discussing the monumental repair job he has taken on at Eastleigh.

Having returned to the Spitfires as director of football/caretaker manager last week, he saw the full extent of what he had inherited in yesterday's eye-opening 3-0 defeat at Dover Athletic.

After parting company with three managers since last summer, Eastleigh are crying out for Hill’s level-headed guidance to steer a shambolic National League campaign back on track.

Wounded by Ricky Miller’s hat-trick for Dover, they remain 15th, eight points above the drop zone, without a win in eight games and with their confidence on the floor.

“When you’ve had three managers, the mere fact you’ve had three different sets of ideas and three ways of working is going to leave a bit of uncertainty,” said Hill.

“There’s a lot of work to be done behind the scenes, on the training ground and on the pitch just to bring a sense of normality back.

“We’ve agreed I’ll do the job until the end of the season and then, between me, Stew (chairman Stewart Donald), Mark Jewell and Neil Fox, we’ll go through the candidates and take it from there.

“There will not be a decision made on the new manager until the season’s finished,” stressed the 53-year-old.

“You cannot keep bringing managers in, relieving them of their duties, paying compensation and then bringing in another one.”

Save for an extended honeymoon period under Hill’s successor Chris Todd, Eastleigh have pretty much been in a state of flux ever since losing the man who famously led them to the 2013/14 Conference South title followed by the National League play-offs in their maiden season.

Having fired Martin Allen after 84 disastrous days last Wednesday, the Spitfires immediately sent an SOS to Hill, who was en route to Seville to support his first love Leicester City in the Champions League.

“I was driving a rental car from Malaga when I got the call. I had no inkling it was coming,” said Hill. “I’d exchanged a few texts with Stew but I’d not spoken to him since the beginning of December.

“The last time I’d seen Eastleigh play was Swindon away in the FA Cup (under Ronnie Moore in mid-November) and how many players are the same from that day?

“It’s unbelievably unrecognisable in personnel and performance and in desire and application."

After all Hill did to propel the Spitfires to non-League’s top tier, he admits their current predicament is “difficult to swallow.”

“I became manager of Eastleigh and after that I became a fan,” he said.

“Since I’ve been away, there have been two results I’ve looked for every week – Eastleigh’s and Leicester’s”

So close are the Spitfires to Hill’s heart that he has given up a scouting job with Aston Villa to try and repair the damage done.

Tuesday's home game against Aldershot Town (7.45pm) might be too soon for him to make an impact, but he smiled: “My wife said to me ‘you like a challenge’ and, trust me, this is a challenge!

“I’ve given up a job with Villa that I really enjoyed and I’m not sure I’d have done it for any other club.”

National League top gun Miller struck in the third, 72nd and 80th minutes at Crabble to keep Dover fifth.

“We huffed and puffed for long spells,” said Hill. “The players look very low on confidence.

“It’s not for me to say anything about the group I’ve inherited, but you have to roll your sleeves up to be a team.”