Assistant manager David Kerslake expects Ebbsfleet United to be in and around National League South play-off spots in time for Christmas

Ebbsfleet want to be in and around the play-off places by the turn of the year.

The Fleet currently sit 11th in National League South, three points outside the top seven with a game in hand on half of the teams above them.

Assistant manager David Kerslake expects them to make up more ground in the next six weeks.

“I expect us to push on a little bit more from now on,” said Kerslake. “You certainly want to be in and around it at Christmas time.

“But the way our form is going, the way we’re playing, I fully expect us to be in and around it.

“We’ve got enough players, once they’re fit, that we can rotate it because it’s a heavy schedule.

“I’d like to think that, come Christmas time, we’re sitting in a nice position.”

The Fleet have now played a third of their league matches following Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat at Weston-super-Mare, a game which saw Kwesi Appiah miss a penalty.

There’s been plenty of promise but Kerslake knows they’ve got a few gears to get through.

“Obviously, we got off to a flyer, three wins, no goals conceded,” reflected Kerslake, speaking before the Weston loss. “But nobody was getting carried away with that.

“Then we had a run of games where we’ve had defeats and certainly the draws, we should have been turning into wins.

“Once we get everybody fit and right, we’ve got games in hand, and if we win them, then we’ll be in a nice position.

“I think we’re getting better as we go along. If you look in the summer at the recruitment, around 18 new bodies came in and that isn’t going to gel together straight away.

“As they continue playing together, they’ll learn each other’s traits, their strengths and weaknesses.”

The Fleet are unbeaten at Stonebridge Road but have lost five games away from home, including