EASTLEIGH’S progress has been nothing short of remarkable in recent weeks, winning seven of their last nine National League games.

But that didn’t stop a small section of so-called Spitfires fans booing as the half-time whistle sounded at the Silverlake on Saturday.

By boss Ben Strevens’ own admission, Eastleigh's performance was well below par in difficult, windy conditions as mid-table Barrow emerged 1-0 winners.

But, with eight games to go, the Spitfires are still in the play-off mix in seventh spot, exceeding all expectations, and, in Strevens’ view, a little more encouragement would go a long way.

Clearly upset on his players’ behalf, Strevens said: “This group has got the team into the play-off positions and sometimes if you’re having an off-day you need your fans to get behind you, cheer the boys on and give you support even when you’re playing badly.

“To hear my players get booed at half-time – and it was only by a small section – I just can’t understand it.

“If they’re not working hard enough or they’re in mid-table or the lower reaches of the league, I’ll take that all day long, but these boys have been putting the most amount of effort in and everyone’s clear that they want to play for this football club and fight for each other.

“They were having a bad day today and sometimes you need someone to get behind you. We were trying to do that from the touchline, but sometimes you need a bit more help.”