Eastleigh were targeting promotion after reaching the play-offs in their first ever season at this level and Richard Hill was not shying away from the target. He acquired genuine quality in Dan Harding, coming from a Championship quality, while Josh Payne has been one of the best midfielders at this level for the past two seasons. It was a strong enough start from the Spitfires as they won five and drew two of the first seven games to instil themselves just behind flawless leaders Forest Green after the first month. But then the wheels just came off the team completely as a few injuries and some bad luck here and there resulted in four defeats in the next five games. It was shock to the system for Hill and the club as a whole and the manager, who has earned the team promotion barely 15 months ago, announced his resignation in late September after a particularly woeful 5:2 thumping at the hands of Dover. Veteran defender Chris Todd assumed caretaker charge and many thought that he would be just keeping the seat warm for some high-profile incumbent. Yet his impact was so profound and so immediate that the Welshman was given the job full-time merely a few weeks later. Eastleigh enjoyed heroic wins away at big clubs like Wrexham and Tranmere and immediately took off again. They lost just a single game in 14 from early October to February and were unmatched in the rest of the league for their consistency and drive throughout the squad. Jai Reason and Ben Strevens were complementing each other well in midfield while Andy Drury was a quality player to rely on the wings. James Countable was the pick of the bunch as the powerful striker was banging in the goals and showing his quality on regular basis. Moreover, Eastleigh impressed in the FA Cup and were the only side from the division to reach the third round, pushing Bolton to a replay before losing narrowly 3:2. The ingredients were there for a sustained title challenge as Todd continued to impress and just let good players get on with it as the season went on. Yet wins became less common in the early weeks of 2016 and then came four poor defeats in a row at the start of February that knocked the confidence out of the squad. It took a while for the team to recover from that but a win over leaders Cheltenham in March restored conference. Indeed, the team had a good run of five wins in seven games and seemed to be in a strong position to bag the fifth spot at the end. Yet they came unstuck late on as they first dropped points away at lowly Halifax and then lost to Tranmere to see their dreams of getting a play-off spot die. It was a disappointing ending of the season but Todd showed genuine promise and there is no reason why Eastleigh will not come back strong again next season.
