Twelve months is a long time in football. It must seem like an eternity when you’re Ebbsfleet manager Dennis Kutrieb.

The Fleet boss has not even completed a full season in English football after the pandemic saw clubs at step 2 vote to half the previous campaign in February. It has meant the German has had time to reassess what went right and wrong, and even pick up some English sayings while sat on the sofa watching television.

Ranked third favourites in National League South by the bookies, Kutrieb is refusing to predict what lies ahead.

He’d much rather see his team do their talking on the pitch.

“Talk is cheap, we need to work and work hard,” said Kutrieb. “There’s one saying I saw on TV here a few months ago that I really liked. You say ‘are you able to talk the talk or walk the walk’, and that’s really good, it’s spot on for me.

“That’s what matters, you don’t need to ask how you can achieve it or talk about it, you need to do it. The simple thing is work hard and try to win the next game. The results will come if you work and play good football, everything else will come from that.

“It was frustrating because I came here to finish the first season but unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to do that. But you can see it as a negative or as a positive and get out of it as much as you can, and that’s what we tried to do.

“We made a few additions to the squad and found the right players that we needed.

“I’m very positive and have a good feeling about the group. they’ve got a strong bond and that’s what you need. If you want to be successful then you need a strong squad, you can’t just rely on 11 or 12 players, that’s very important for me. Throughout a season you’ll need to use the whole squad, and that’s the reason you carry that strength, everyone needs to be prepared for when they are asked to play.”

'I’ve always said after 10 games we will know exactly where we are and where other teams are in the league'

Kutrieb will use the same philosophy as last season. Look at the first 10 games, stick to his beliefs and then tinker where required.

He’s not one to look too far ahead, given the events of the past year that’s probably no bad thing. But predicting what could happen is a tough ask, given the variables that can strike at any time.

“It’s not the best solution to talk about a whole season,” explained the Fleet boss. “You have so many different things and outside factors that are possible, they can affect how successful you are. Do you have a bit of luck? Have you prepared right? Possible injuries? Covid interruptions?

“There are so many different possibilities so it’s not a situation to think about the whole season. I’ve always said after 10 games we will know exactly where we are and where other teams are in the league and how everyone is playing and adapting.

“I want to look at us after 10 games, I might look after six games because we then have a short break due to the FA Cup and the bye week.

“After those first six games we will make a short resume and either continue or change a little bit more and do things a bit differently. But in general, we just need to keep improving day by day and that’s how we’ll approach things.”

Fleet’s 24-man squad includes loan keeper Josh Gould who will compete with Chris Haigh - one of 10 new arrivals.

Despite the change of personnel, Kutrieb still feels a score to settle after the first game of the season paired Ebbsfleet at home to Tonbridge this Saturday. The Angels won the same fixture 1-0 last season, a game Kutrieb missed due to the club’s Covid regulations.

The big difference this time around, aside from Kutrieb’s presence on the touchline, will be supporters back in the ground.

“It’s a tough start because we got a defeat last season that was hard to take,” recalled the Fleet boss. “We played a good game but we got beat 1-0 and we want to make that better.

“Of course, we’ll prepare the team and the players will know exactly what we want to do. We’ll try to win the game but there’s nothing special in saying that, as we’ll approach every game the same way.

“During our pre-season games at home when we had a good chance, a good bit of play or scored a goal, you hear the fans and they appreciate what they’ve seen. It’s good to hear and it can be a massive advantage for every team who has a good backing.

“With it being a derby, if you can give the fans something on our first game back that would be great, it will mean a lot for them and the club as well. We’ve worked so hard for the last six weeks and we want to have the rewards for that, that’s the most important thing.

“But pre-season results and performances don’t matter now, it starts on Saturday and I’m positive and really looking forward to it. The players are too, and they want to give the fans something to shout about.”

From that talented squad, there are decisions to make. Elliott Romain’s scoring form in pre-season may see him nudge ahead of Rakish Bingham in the pecking order but there are places up for grabs across the pitch with no obvious weak link among the Fleet ranks.

“It's going to be a tough decision,” admitted Kutrieb, when asked about selecting his first XI of the campaign. “That's happening every time you don't have injuries and players are fit but I'm not afraid to make a decision.

“I'm confident that we will make the right decisions for the club and team. They've had six weeks to show what they can do, show me their strengths and where they can improve us as a team.

“We are open minded, there's no players that will be surprised by the team on Saturday. We're talking five days before the first game and most of the team I have in my mind, if not then there'd be something wrong! But there's still a few days to go and if we see something special and feel they will give us an impetus then we would be stupid to overlook it.

“We will give everything we can on Saturday. We will have a strong bench, it doesn't matter what level you are at, that's always important. There are so many games that are decided from the bench and I wouldn't be surprised if they have a role to play. It's not just the starting XI, it's the whole squad that can make an impact for us.”

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