THE sign on the narrow road leading to Eastleigh's Silverlake Stadium reads: "Flood."
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| Eastleigh were promoted to the National League after winning the Conference South in 2013/14 |
As you progresse into the dip under the M27, it turns out it is just a few large puddles spread across the tarmac.
Hampshire County Council obviously feel you can't be too careful. Bolton Wanderers, Neil Lennon's struggling Championship side, will be heading down Stoneham Lane on Saturday with a similar sense of wariness in the third round of the FA Cup.
The last non-League side left in this season's competition, Eastleigh, are no tinpot outfit from the sticks having their day in the limelight.
Chris Todd's team are fourth in the National League table, they comfortably knocked out Crewe in the first round on their own ground, they have a side packed to the brim with League and Cup experience and are aiming to be in the Football League within the next few years.
When you have negotiated the puddles and arrive at Eastleigh's 5,192 capacity Silverlake home you turn the corner into a club brimming with excitement - but also ambition.
James Constable scored 106 goals for Oxford over six years, one short of the club record as he helped them out of the Conference and into League 2. But he had no hesitation, when offered a pay cut on a one year deal by Oxford, in opting for the Eastleigh project in 2014, after a chat with super ambitious insurance tycoon owner Stewart Donald.
Now Constable, 31, who drives through the New Forest every day on the way to work, is loving his football again. The former Walsall and Shrewsbury striker said: "Obviously It was a tough decision to drop out of league football. But in the later stages of my career I am enjoying my football again.
"It felt like I was excess to what Oxford wanted. There were a few league clubs interested, but I talked to the chairman here and I knew it was the right move.
"When you come to a club you look at the squad and you think 'Have we got a chance?' and for me here it was a definite 'yes'. "There are a lot of players with League experience here. We went to Crewe in the first round, beat them 1-0 and it could have been by a few more. We are in with a great chance of at least the play offs this year. And that is our main aim."
Constable has already scored 12 goals this season, and along with former QPR and Fulham winger Lee Cook - who once cost £2.5m and appeared in the 2007 semi-final with Watford - and Ben Strevens, they will present the major dangers to cash strapped Bolton on a soggy pitch.
He said: "If they have an off day and we play really well then we have a chance. It's whoever copes with the conditions and deals with them best."
When Eastleigh decided on a change of manager 13 weeks ago, they opted to hand the job to former Swansea, Exeter and Torquay player Todd, who himself has a quite tale to tell. He battled back from a life threatening bout of chronic myeloid leukaemia spotted seven years ago. He is still on a course of chemotherapy tablets and will be for the rest of his life.
But, he said: "I'm fine and healthy now and it won't stop me having a beer if we win on Saturday. In fact I'll have more than one!"
Todd has written a book to raise awareness about the illness, recorded a charity single, performed in a charity concert and appeared on television. But he wants to beat Bolton so the charity buckets can come out again in the fourth round.
Todd, known for his dapper appearance and always wearing a suit in the dugout, said: "If we beat Bolton and end up with a Premier League team away in the next round, I am sure they will let me stick some "Bloodwise" buckets around the ground. So there is another incentive."
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| The car park of Eastleigh's Silverlake Stadium was flooded on Tuesday |
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