PAUL Doswell can hear it now. When news of Eastleigh's anticipated £6,000 signing of Weymouth hotshot David Laws broke yesterday, it will have provoked the same old mutterings in non-league circles: "How on earth can they afford it?"

Having already left their rivals reeling with the £10,000 purchase of Newport IoW goalkeeper Colin Matthews, the Ten Acres club are spending big again in their long-term quest for Southern Football.

The cynics are having a field day. But ask manager Doswell when the bubble is likely to burst and he'll tell you emphatically: "We've not even blown it up yet!"

His advice to all those wondering where Eastleigh's seemingly bottomless pit of cash is coming from is to take a drive down Stoneham Lane.

In the old days, you could easily have passed Ten Acres by without knowing it, but there's no chance of that now. Every available inch of fence outside is screaming out for attention, plastered with the names of their sponsors, and it's the same story inside the ground, where wall-to-wall advertising hoardings jostle for space around the pitch perimeter.

Ask Doswell how Eastleigh have got their money and he'll tell you: "On the back of a lot of hard work."

Instead of getting a main backer, the go-ahead club have found ourselves 16 partner sponsors, each paying £5,000 a year over a three-year period.

Those main names are supported by gold and silver sponsors who chip in with £1,500 and £600 a season respectively.

"Around half the money is going into the team itself and the other half is for development," Doswell explained. "We have spent £5,000 already on the main pitch and the training pitch, plus another £5,000 re-doing the boardroom so that we've got somewhere suitable to entertain our sponsors.

"Another £10,000 has gone on getting all the advertising presented well because we want to do this thing right."

Player-wise, Eastleigh are looking well beyond their first team. A healthy sum of £6,000 has so far been invested in their blossoming youth set-up, which now caters for under-8s right through to under-18s. They have tied up with two established Tyro teams, Winsor and Brendon, and , as Doswell pointed out: "Expanding the youth set-up will help with grant applications because we're catering for grassroots football."

Matthews's signing came as a result of the youth policy. Simon Kingsnorth of The Mortgage Lender personally funded the transfer on condition that his seven-year-old son Jack, an aspiring goalkeeper, received coaching from Matthews in a newly-launched under-8s team.

Doswell, who owns Drew Smith Homes in partnership with his brother, is all too aware of the sniping that's been going on since Eastleigh emerged as a major player on the non-League scene.

But he said: "People have got to appreciate the sheer amount of work, time and effort that's gone into this. Any other club could achieve what we've done if they're prepared to do the same.

"There's no point being jealous of Eastleigh because this is a club that has never won a senior competition and, in any case, there's no guarantee of success.

"I'm not silly. I know people are hoping we're heading for a big fall, but they should give a chance first."

Denis Bundy, a well-known fund-raising figure in football and cricket circles, has been appointed club development officer.

Doswell said: "He's going develop every possible opportunity sponsorship-wise. There's so much potential here. Denis is a christian and he's even intending to mailshot local vicars offering them use of the facilities for wakes and wedding receptions. It'll be like Four Weddings and a Funeral!

"There's a lot of sour grapes going about with people saying we can't sustain this. But we will sustain it because we've got people on board for three years - and possibly longer."

Nipping another rumour in the bud, Doswell confirmed that Matt Le Tissier is not being paid to play for Eastleigh.

So far the Saints legend has only turned out in a pre-season friendly, but the Ten Acres boss said: "He's trained with us this week and he will play for us when he wants to, but there's been no talk of any money.

"The only thing we've said to Matt is that I've got a villa abroad and so has our president Clive Wilson, so there's a week in the sun for him if he wants it."

After a maximum six-point start to their Wessex League campaign, Eastleigh hit the FA Cup trail to Horsham YMCA tomorrow. Laws won't be eligible to play, but the club are hopeful he will make his league debut at Thatcham on Monday (3pm).