Ebbsfleet United striker Dominic Poleon on scoring five goals in first month of the National League South season

Dominic Poleon took his goal tally for the season to five with a double against Dover on Monday - but the Ebbsfleet striker isn’t keeping count!

“Is it? I didn’t realise,” responded Poleon, when told he’s already scored five in the opening month of the campaign. “That’s good, I thought it was four.”

By comparison, his final five goals of last season were spread across the last 16 matches, many of which saw Poleon used as a substitute.

He’s started all six league matches this campaign - his best run in a Fleet shirt - and he’s delivered with goals. After only starting five of those final 16 games last season, was it a topic for discussion with the manager in the close season?

“It’s a good question,” said Poleon, after a long pause.

“For me it was more about if you’re delivering on the pitch you want to play as many minutes and as many matches as possible. If you’re not doing that then that’s where you can face problems.”

There’s a gear shift in Poleon this season. It’s evident in the stats, it’s clear on the pitch and it comes through in his interview.

“We’re focused Matt,” he told me. “We can laugh and joke about scoring goals but we’re focused and, not that we weren’t taking it seriously last year, but the disappointment of it (Fleet’s play-off final defeat) has put a real steel within the squad and everyone around the club.

“We want to do well so we don’t have a repeat of last year, it’s been that little bit of fuel. Everyone says ‘you were close, unlucky, three minutes, two minutes away’, whatever it was, this season there’s a bit of steel and we want to leave it in our hands to do well.

“Last season is in the past, especially with what happened and how it transpired.

“As a striker you want to score goals, if you