CHRIS Todd was eager to deflect the focus onto his players after Eastleigh survived a late Tranmere Rovers onslaught to seal a momentous 2-1 National League victory on Merseyside.

The Spitfires’ caretaker boss has been in the spotlight since stepping in to replace Richard Hill last month, with chairman Stewart Donald currently wading through an extensive list of applicants for the Silverlake Stadium post, writes Paul McNamara.

Todd’s cause was granted a significant boon as Joe Partington and James Constable struck after the break to establish a lead that Eastleigh wouldn’t relinquish, despite Constable’s 73rd-minute red card and Steve Jennings’ late goal for the hosts.

“I don’t want to talk about myself today,” said Todd. "I want to talk about my players. They were absolutely outstanding.

“I believe we deserved that result and it’s all credit to my players.

“The boys dug so deep and you do have to ride your luck – but they earned that today by working so hard.”

The Spitfires’ victory at Prenton Park was especially unexpected, coming, as it did, seven days after Todd’s men had laboured in the course of a 2-0 home defeat by Braintree Town.

“We had a massive setback last Saturday and that hurt me and every single player in our squad,” said Todd.

“We sat there after that game and we couldn’t believe what had just happened. Sometimes things will go like that. You can’t always play well, but last week we didn’t do enough. We didn’t work hard and dig in.”

Todd responded to that Silverlake reverse by making five changes to his line-up for Eastleigh’s trip to the Wirral, most notably replacing goalkeeper Lewis Noice with regular number one Ross Flitney.

Flitney would go on to play a starring role in his team’s triumph. The former Barnet stopper pulled off a string of top-drawer saves, including from Rovers striker Andy Mangan’s penalty on the stroke of half-time.

While explaining his decision to recall the experienced Flitney, Todd reserved some words of encouragement for Noice.

He said: “Lewis Noice is an absolute diamond of a keeper. He’s got a big future ahead of him.

“He was unlucky today, but sometimes with the young lads you have to nurture them. You can’t keep playing them all the time because it builds up the pressure on them.”

Todd revealed that ex-Southampton man Dan Harding was disappointed to be among the players left out at Tranmere, but the manager was wholesome in his praise for the manner in which Harding applied himself as a half-time substitute for the injured Michael Green.

Furthermore, the Welshman explained that he will never be afraid to tweak his starting 11.

“There will be times when I’ll have to try and change things,” said Todd. “We’ve worked in training on exactly what we wanted to do today and, in my opinion, it’s come off.”

Todd appreciated the magnitude of Eastleigh’s victory at the home of a club that was playing at Wembley in the League Cup final in 2000, when the Spitfires were operating in the Wessex League.

“It’s an amazing achievement,” said the man who was signed by Hill in January 2013. “This is Tranmere Rovers, and what a massive history they have. But Eastleigh are on the up. It’s a new club, it’s fresh, and we have got to try and compete with these teams.

“They are clubs (the bigger National League sides) with a lot of fans, and at the end today they were trying to will the ball into the net.”

Having overseen the Spitfires’ victory at Wrexham a fortnight ago in his first game at the helm, Todd is now responsible for two of the finest days in his club’s history.

Pressed on his hopes of being allowed to prolong his tenure – and with shouts of ‘give him the job’ from Tranmere players passing by as he spoke – Todd said: “Who knows? I’m fed up of talking about it.

"I’m a positive person. I’ve always thought in my head that I could be a football manager.

“The opportunity has come sooner than I expected, but am I ready for this job? Yes I am. I believe I have enough about myself to take this club forward and me and the chairman will sit down and talk about it.”

Todd confessed that he would be turning his thoughts to Tuesday’s Silverlake meeting with table toppers Forest Green Rovers as soon as he took his seat on the bus for the journey home.

Constable is set to miss that game after his dismissal for a clash with Rovers’ Jay Harris. Todd said that he would watch that incident again before deciding whether to contest what would be a three-match ban for his six-goal striker.

Reflecting on his feelings during the frantic closing stages to the game at Prenton Park, as Tranmere, playing with nine men following Lois Maynard’s 50th minute sending-off and an injury to Mangan, chased an equaliser, Todd said: “It’s so hard to explain. The mixed emotion is incredible. At times I was praying for the referee to blow the whistle and it just went on, and on, and on.”

An increasing number of the Spitfires’ support will be keeping their fingers crossed that Todd’s reign does the same.