EASTLEIGH youngster Connor Underhill explained how manager Kelvin Davis has been "really helpful" as he navigates the early stages of his professional career.

Underhill, who signed his first pro contract with the Spitfires earlier this season, made his first National League start in a 2-0 win over Ebbsfleet on Tuesday evening.

The teenager played a full 90 minutes at the Silverlake Stadium and helped Eastleigh bounce back from a disappointing defeat at Braintree on Saturday.

Underhill has been a regular in Eastleigh's matchday squads since September, coming off the bench on six occasions, and is thankful for Davis' guidance.

"He has been really helpful with telling me what to do, giving me pointers for situations I haven't been in before," he explained to Eastleigh's media team.

"He has welcomed me in very well. He's helping me get minutes and helping me learn. We all put a shift in today.

"We all worked really hard to get a clean sheet, which is good. I love it when I put in a big challenge and the fans are behind me.

"It gets you going even more. It's an amazing feeling. It makes you buzz, it's really good.  It was a good game."

He continued: "I'm happy that I got 90 minutes under my belt. The team played very well and we battled hard throughout.

"I thought we started a bit slowly but as we got into the game, we picked up the pace and played really well.

"I think I did well. I did the job that I needed to do, putting tackles in that were needed and helping the team's positioning.

"It's good to get back to winning ways, we need to be there all the time. We need to keep this going now.

"We need to keep getting win after win so that we can continue to climb up the table. Hartlepool will be tough.

"We played them away and drew 0-0 so this time we want to beat them and take all three points."

Eastleigh are eighth in the National League, four points behind Altrincham, who occupy the final play-off spot and have two games in hand.