EASTLEIGH chief executive Mark Jewell says the Spitfires were left with no alternative but to sack Martin Allen – even at the risk of the club being branded a “circus.”

Allen – the National League outfit's third manager of the season – had his contract terminated with immediate effect today after 14 league and cup games in charge.

The 51-year-old lasted just 84 days in the Silverlake hotseat having arrived at the start of December just 24 hours after Ronnie Moore’s shock exit.

Moore himself had spent only three months in the job after becoming a late August replacement for Chris Todd, who was dismissed four games into the campaign.

For a club that was targeting promotion at the start of the season, the managerial mayhem has been embarrassing, not to mention damaging, with Eastleigh now 15th, just nine points clear of the drop zone.

Results were catastrophic under former Barnet boss Allen who oversaw just two victories – in the FA Cup at Halifax and at Boreham Wood in the league.

Some have branded the Spitfires a laughing stock, but Jewell and chairman Stewart Donald will take that criticism squarely on the chin if it means doing the right thing.

Allen’s last game in charge, last night's 1-0 defeat to Macclesfield, was their third home reverse in the space of eight disastrous days.

And what really alarmed the Eastleigh hierarchy was that only 2,345 fans turned out for a free admission game.

“For the same fixture previously we’ve had over 4,000,” said Jewell. “To be 1,800 down in half-term week is a real worry and left us no choice.

“In any other season with this run of results and the nature of the performances, there would have been no hesitation relieving the manager of his duties.

“But this season, where we’ve already lost Chris and Ronnie, it’s deemed crazy and a circus down there.

“But a relegation battle is something we’ve never considered since we’ve been at this club and it’s becoming a real threat.

“There are so many positives here – new facilities, cheap season-tickets, community work etc. – we cannot be linked with a downward spiral.

"Fans have been leaving early, reflecting the general feeling of the support base, and that for me is more concerning than being called an idiot for getting rid of so many managers.”

Looking crestfallen after the Macclesfield loss, Allen admitted he wasn't happy and publicly laid into his players for the first time.

Alluding to his predecessor Moore, he said: “They (the players) weren’t happy when the previous manager stood in front of the media and said they were gutless.

"I've stood back and watched some games here, watched our team play, and it's been awful.

"It's not acceptable to me, it's not acceptable to the chairman."

Eastleigh face a big game at Dover Athletic on Saturday, but Jewell says there will be "no knee-jerk reaction" in naming Allen's permanent successor.

"The chairman has put his hand up and admitted we've made mistakes and we can't afford to do it again," he said.

Allen's assistant James Russell and goalkeeping coach/player Graham Stack remain with the club.