Ebbsfleet United this weekend make the short trip round the M25 to face Sutton United with new boss Harry Watling looking to win successive games since his appointment.

Watling is hoping three points will also lift his new side off the foot of the National League table. 

Last weekend saw Ebbsfleet win their first game of the season beating Hartlepool United 1-0 at the Kuflink Stadium in Watling’s first game in charge since replacing Danny Searle as manager.

“If you had told me at the start of the week when I took the job that we’d win 1-0, of course I would have taken it,” the new boss admitted to KSN this week.

He went on, “I thought it was a really workmanlike performance and the buy in from the players was terrific to be honest. We were coming up against a side who were a tricky, difficult proposition, particularly when they play away from home, so we had to respect that!” 

“The reaction to the whole week from the players was a massive positive and I really cannot have any complaints. I was not surprised at the reaction – I watched them on the Tuesday when they played Aldershot and I thought that the boys pushed one another, reacted well, supported one another and it was as clear as day to see.”

“Coming in and putting some new ideas across, you always get a decent bounce, always, but then it is all about harnessing that and trying to bottle it up if you can and spreading it out as much as you possibly can in the coming weeks!”

“We will not win every game, but we will not lose every game, we are not going to draw every game – it will be a mixture of everything, but I think that the key things were the feeling going into that game last Saturday. The opening thirty minutes really showed that in the team.” 

“We have a little bit of everything in the squad, but it’s not the finished article! Short term, you must appreciate and accept that you are going to come in and manage someone else’s selection – it is what it is!”

“The Club has made some really good signings, and I do have to give Danny credit for that – there are some boys in the building who I am really looking forward to getting out of bed in the morning and working with them.”

“But then over time, I will sprinkle my own identity on some of the profiles in each position.” 

“Sadly, Danny’s departure is the unfortunate reality of football! I was not wishing anyone to lose their job. I spoke to the Club firstly in January to potentially taking the job, but I did not feel as though it was the right time for me.”

“They contacted me again a couple of weeks ago and it was all done very, very quickly. One thing that I do know is that you cannot control when these jobs are going to come up and you have to make those educated decisions on whether it’s the right one for you and anyone who loses their job – and I genuinely mean this – I feel for them as Danny Searle is a good man.” 

“But I have to look at it from the standpoint we’re in now – we have 37 games to go and a real opportunity to make something happen!” 

“We have a squad much better than where we sit in the League table which is obviously why I have been brought in – to change what the table looks like in our favour!” 

“It is way too early isn’t it – I will not take any notice of the table until we are ten or eleven games into our tenure at the Club, just because you can’t read into the table too much.”

“We played Hartlepool on Saturday who at three o’oclock were inside the Play Offs and I was reading that they were looking for their third away win on the spin and then after we beat them 1-0, I spoke to their manager afterwards and he told me that they have not won at home yet!”

“The League can be anything it wants to be at any time and at the moment it is all about “ones” and “nils” … 

Picture supplied by Ebbsfleet United.