MAX Stryjek’s single-minded determination to be Sunderland No1 can only bode well for Eastleigh.

The 22-year-old, 6ft 2in Polish youth international has kicked off his loan spell with the Spitfires with two impressive National League clean sheets.

Eastleigh boss Andy Hessenthaler has already been sufficiently impressed to hope that Stryjek will extend his stay and reckons his time down south will help him achieve his goal of climbing the Stadium of Light pecking order.

“We didn’t know too much about Max but we’re fortunate to have a connection with Sunderland and I spoke to Richard Hill and Paul Reid about him,” said Hessenthaler.

“He’s third choice up there at the moment, but they do believe in him and say he needs games.

“He’s been exceptional for us.

"You can see he’s a confident boy and he’s settled in like he’s been here a few weeks. Credit to the boys playing in front of him, they’ve helped him massively.”

Hessenthaler’s first conversation with Stryjek gave him a good insight into the Warsaw-born keeper’s burning ambition.

“He’s very focused and very driven and knows he needs games to put himself in the shop window,” said the boss.

“He believes he should be Sunderland’s No1 and that can only help us because he’s so determined to do well.”

Stryjek earned instant hero status with Spitfires fans by saving a penalty on his debut against Dagenham & Redbridge, but there is more to his game than shot-stopping.

“He’s got a big throw, a big kick, he punches well, he makes good decisions and he’s very commanding,” said Hessenthaler.

“He’s the perfect fit for what we need.

“We’ve been inconsistent with keepers – not performance-wise, but with injuries to Stacky (Graham Stack) and Ross (Ross Flitney).

"Max is younger, he’s living in the house down here and he comes in every day well prepared.

"I’d love to think we could keep him longer if he wants to stay. It’s a good platform for him playing games at a decent level.”

After beating the Daggers 1-0, the Spitfires repeated the feat at home to Boreham Wood on Tuesday and will be aiming for a hat-trick of wins at Gateshead on Saturday.

“It’s been a decent week which will hopefully continue,” said Hessenthaler.

“A lot of managers will tell you 1-0’s the best scoreline. That’s three clean sheets out of four for us now and four games unbeaten.

“Last season we went on a ten-game unbeaten run and there’s no reason we can’t do it again.

"Getting players back from injury has helped.”

The Spitfires will have added strike options for Gateshead with Ben Williamson fit again after hamstring trouble and Paul McCallum back from a one-match ban.

Joey Jones is okay despite bowing out injured on Tuesday night, leaving George Dowling and Ryan Cresswell as the sole absentees.