Ebbsfleet United manager Dennis Kutrieb reacts to 1-0 win at Maidenhead and moving out of the National League relegation zone

Ebbsfleet’s improved defensive record is of more interest to manager Dennis Kutrieb than moving out of the bottom four.

The Fleet are three points clear of the bottom four after winning at Maidenhead on Tuesday night.

But it was a second clean sheet in third games that took Kutrieb’s attention, knowing that a solid base will go hand-in-hand with moving up the table.

“As I always say, I can’t watch the table too much,” insisted the Fleet boss. “There are teams around us that haven’t played the same amount of games that we have.

“I don’t care about the table at this moment in time. It was a setback last Saturday (against Hartlepool) after beating Wealdstone but if I put those three games together, we’ve conceded one goal.

“That’s definitely a massive improvement from the months before and that’s something we can improve on.

“When we make sure we don’t concede many goals then we’ll always have a chance to get points on the board and we don’t have to be worried (about the table).”

Ebbsfleet fielded a relatively inexperienced back three with Myles Kenlock partnering on-loan pair Declan Skura and the returning Mustapha Olagunju.

The midfield pair of Josh Wright and Ouss Cisse added knowhow and experience ahead of them, and the Fleet looked assured defending into the wind and kicking up the slope in the second half at Maidenhead.

“The three of them defended very well and it was good with Josh Wright and Ouss Cisse in front of them,” said Kutrieb. “I’m proud of how they approached the game.

“Last year it helped us to be so experienced, this year it helps us to be a little bit fresher and younger in some areas. So, from this point of view hopefully we’ve found the right balance now and can kick on from here.

“Ouss Cisse had a