EASTLEIGH owner Stewart Donald wants his club to focus on the FA Cup third round replay with Newport County - despite finding himself "dreaming" of a tie with Manchester United.

The Spitfires drew 1-1 with the Welsh side last Saturday, coming back from a goal down even though they played with 10 men for over an hour.

They were then drawn against Premier League giants Manchester United in a potential fourth-round meeting at the Silverlake stadium.

They have to overcome Newport in their replay on Tuesday, January 16 to earn that clash with the Premier League side.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Donald insisted that just beating the League Two club would be huge for Eastleigh.

He said: "I told everybody to just focus on Newport because that in itself is a prize. Beating Newport would be fantastic, and it would be an elite scalp.

"Once the draw came out, the whole club went mad despite trying to keep their feet on the ground, but we have to keep our feet on the ground.

"Even saying that, I took my children to school which is about 20 minutes away. As I came home which was on the route to Eastleigh, 20 minutes after I got to my house, I realised I was driving on my way to Eastleigh dreaming.

"I had to turn around and turn a 30-minute journey into an hour and a half. It is difficult not to get carried away, but we’ve got to be professional."

There has been some suggestions a potential meeting with Manchester United would need to be held at a neutral venue, rather than Eastleigh's Silverlake.

Donald claimed he does not expect that to be the case and the Reading game is proof they can handle the big occasion.

"I would be absolutely amazed if we move the game. The only reason it would move is on safety grounds," he continued. 

"We’ll have to have a safety meeting but initially, the view is we managed the Reading game, and we could manage this game.

"I think every Eastleigh fan will dream of having Man United at the stadium and creating the memories there, not at somebody else’s ground."

The Spitfires are in National League action against Southend United on Saturday before they host Newport County on Tuesday evening.