EASTLEIGH chairman Stewart Donald has clarified that the Spitfires do NOT have a director of football.

There was some confusion when a recent press release, issued by the club itself, stated that “director of football Matt Lewton” was the man to contact regarding enquiries for transfer-listed duo Ayo Obileye and Ryan Bird.

That caught the attention of hawk-eyed Eastleigh fans, prompting Donald to respond on The Spitfires Supporters' Club forum. 

He said: “We do not have a director of football. We are unlikely to have one unless we can get close to the Championship, I would imagine.

“Matt Lewton has been brought into the club to help with scouting, player recruitment, contracts and, dare I say it, player sales.

“He is a very well connected and extremely hardworking guy who has a lot of experience and contacts.

"We thought he would be an asset to the club.

“I will reflect on a job title for him over the Christmas period but, in essence, he helps Martin (Allen, manager) and myself with whatever we ask, from organising travel, ensuring the players have what they need, lunches, scouting, and all the things mentioned above.

“With the type of players and profile of the club now, one big area we have not particularly needed before is maximising interest in our players to ensure we get the right transfer fees and structure when selling players.

“I have no experience of this and we have three players attracting a lot of interest - possibly four.

“We do not want to lose them but, if we do, then we certainly need to make sure we get good value.”

One Eastleigh player attracting a lot of attention is wideman Luke Coulson, who is being linked with a new year's move into the Football League.