RETURNING hero Ross Flitney has come back to Eastleigh primarily as a goalkeeper coach.

The 33-year-old will forever be revered at the Silverlake Stadium as the backbone of the 2013/14 Conference South title-winning squad.

But although Flitney still has plenty to offer as a player, manager Richard Hill believes he is ready for the next stage of his career.

“Ross will be registered as a player but don’t forget that Ben Strevens (coach) and Paul Reid (head of recruitment) are also registered players, but it’s not the case that they’re going to play that many games," said Hill.

“I’m not saying Ross won’t, but I’ve always said that he will be a good goalkeeper coach.

“Forget his age, experience and everything else, I told him when he was here before that he should think about doing his badges and I said it again when he was with me at Whitehawk.

“Until the last few weeks, Ross hadn’t been that interested, but I spoke to him again and told him this would be a nice opportunity for him.

“I’ve seen him put on some very good coaching sessions and it’s a chance now for him to start the next part of his career.”

Former Barnet man Graham Stack remains Eastleigh No1 but, with young Mark Childs still recovering from long-term injury, Flitney offers the perfect back-up.

“If you’ve got a 'keeper like Ross around, it would be ludicrous not to register him as a player,” said Hill.

“I don’t think Mark Childs will be ready for the start of the season and, if anything happens to Stack, we’ve got a goalkeeper more than capable of stepping in.

“Ross is conscientious, hard-working and he’s not going to throw his dummy out of the pushchair if he gets upset.”