Eastleigh chairman to approach 'manager in work' at EFL club

Stewart Donald is looking for his second new Eastleigh manager in the space of four months

Eastleigh chairman Stewart Donald has requested permission to talk to the manager of an EFL club following Ronnie Moore's departure on Wednesday.

Moore, 63, left the National League side for "personal reasons" after just three months in charge.

His time at Eastleigh included knocking League One Swindon out in the FA Cup first round.

"There is one manager I want to talk to, but he's currently with a league club," Donald told BBC Radio Solent.

"I've made a tentative enquiry to that club," he added. "If they let me speak to that manager, I think he would be someone I would very much like.

"We didn't have a replacement lined up, so it's hit us a bit from left-field, but there were two or three people just behind Ronnie when he was appointed in August so we will revisit those as well."

Moore's assistant, Kevin Watson, will take charge of the team in the interim, but Donald hopes to appoint a successor in time for their FA Cup second-round tie at home to FC Halifax Town on Sunday.

Former Rotherham, Tranmere and Hartlepool manager Moore started his reign at Eastleigh with a nine-match unbeaten run, but they have slipped to ninth in the National League and eight points off the play-offs following successive defeats.