EASTLEIGH chairman Stewart Donald was in the rare position of having a foot in both camps for this afternoon's 2-0 friendly defeat against Oxford United.

Having grown up in the Oxford area and recently acquired a ten per cent stake in the League Two club, he considers himself a Us’ fan.

But a whopping £3 million investment suggests he’s pretty fond of Eastleigh too and he was just relieved that today's match, settled by late first-half goals from Johnny Mullins and Danny Hylton, was only a friendly.

He said: “Everyone knows I’m an Oxford fan and the fact it was a pre-season game allowed me to enjoy it. For me it was just a nice day, but it might have been different had it been a competitive match.

“When you work every day, like I do at Eastleigh, and you’ve been there all week leading up to the game, there’s an attachment to the club and the fans.”

Eastleigh’s ex-Oxford striker James Constable – scorer of 106 goals for the Us – spurned the Spitfires’ most presentable chance midway through the first half and Donald admitted: “It would have been nice if he'd scored, not for our sake but for his.

“Oxford have not had many legends down the years, but James is one of them. He’s just one goal off their all-time leading scorer and all week he’s been looking forward to the game. It's the first time he's played against them since he left.”

Reflecting on Eastleigh’s overall performance, Donald added: “I think we did alright against them today. It was a good test for the lads to get under their belt and, for a pre-season game, it was quite competitive. It got a bit edgy, but not silly, and it was a very good workout.”

Ex-Saints goalkeeper Michael Poke has joined Eastleigh on loan from Portsmouth until January while regular No1 Ross Flitney gets over a thumb injury.

But, as Donald revealed, that might not be the end of the Spitfires’ summer imports.

There is every chance of one, or possibly two, more signings before the National League campaign starts at Southport on August 8.

Ex-Saint Dan Harding played the full 90 minutes at left-back today and, although the 31-year-old is bound to be in demand, Donald said: “The longer he’s in the building, the more games he plays and the more he gets used to us, the better our chance of signing him.

“We certainly need an extra defender and Dan’s a very polished, very stylish left-back.”

Eastleigh continue their pre-season build-up at Steve Claridge's Salisbury on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Manager Richard Hill will be taking his full squad to the Ray Mac and is likely to give a run-out to young, home-grown trio Tony Lee, Jack Masterton and Jack Smith.

Summer strike signing Ross Lafayette missed the Oxford game with a dead leg, but should be back to face Barnet at the Silverlake next Saturday.