Ebbsfleet United manager Dennis Kutrieb says his players must resist urge to react to controversial refereeing decisions this season

Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb has told his players they can’t afford to get distracted by refereeing decisions this season.

The Fleet felt a number of key moments went against them in the previous campaign, but Kutrieb has insisted that they need to take a different approach on the pitch this term.

“The only thing I have told the boys is that they need to get on with it and if there is something where we have to talk then it’s me or our captain - and that’s it,” stated Kutrieb.

“Everyone else must accept and respect the decision and try to be better and make sure we don’t get distracted.

“For me it’s not a problem to talk about it because I don’t need to play, but the players shouldn’t get distracted from it so I want to take the pressure away from them.

“Sometimes you feel as a player that it’s so unfair, then can’t bring your best performance and I’d rather say that I try to deal with it and they try to play.

“Everyone has to do a job and it’s my job to talk to the referee, not the players’ job. If someone needs to talk then our captain can do it but we need to improve and just accept it because we can’t change it anyway.”

The inconsistency of officials has been one of the biggest contrasts for Kutrieb, who is about to start his third season in English football.

The German manager is still struggling to understand what has gone before but wants his team to be even better so referee calls cannot influence results.

“Everyone makes mistakes - referees, opponents, goalkeepers, us, everyone does it - and that’s not a problem in general,” he added.

“It becomes a problem when you have the feeling that it’s just one way.

“I don’t know if they don’t know the rules or want to decide things in different ways - I still don’t