David Artell is not surprised by the success being enjoyed by veteran midfielder Danny Hollands at Easteligh. Hollands, 34, returned to the South Coast in the summer of 2017 after a season at Crewe. The former Portsmouth man made 29 appearances for the Alex, scoring his only goal for the club in a 2-0 home win over Exeter City.
Now he has been given more licence to get forward and his attacking instinct to see him get in and around the opposition penalty area has resulted in him scoring 8 goals already this season!
Artell knows the experienced Hollands will be one of a number of Eastleigh threats in this weekend’s Emirates FA Cup second round tie.
The Crewe boss told us: “Danny left us after a season and he was a good player. He did a good job and he had that experience to help the younger ones.
“I’m sure one of the main reasons he left us was location. He is a South Coast boy and he turned down a contract here to move to Eastleigh. They were spending a few bob as well at the time, so I am sure that was a factor as well.
“They are trying to get into the league and it is tough because there are a number of clubs down there with some strong finances. You only have to look at what Salford have done in a short space of time.
“We will have to play at our level. It doesn’t matter if we are playing Middlesbrough away or Eastleigh, we have to perform to beat whoever is in front of us.”