Fitness first for Ebbsfleet manager Harry Watling during two-week break from National League action

Manager Harry Watling wants his Ebbsfleet team to be unrecognisable from what’s gone before by the time they’re next in league action.

After an early FA Cup exit at the hands of lower-league Maidstone, the Fleet now have a two-week break from National League action.

While there’s a National League Cup group game at home to Tottenham under-21s tonight (Tuesday), the break in fixtures gives Watling the chance to work on his side’s fitness.

The new manager took charge in September and earmarked early on that fitness was a key issue among the players he inherited.

“We have got the best part of two weeks so I need to create a mini pre-season,” stated Watling.

“I need to create that season for the legs and the lungs and the next time our fanbase see us I want us to look like a completely different team.

“It might be the same players, but I need us to look like a completely different team.

“It’s going to be lots of hard work, lots of running and hard graft on the training pitch.

“I’m looking at improving our running power. I’m looking at improving our snap.

“I’m from round here, I’m local, so I know the people expect at a minimum for people to run around and compete, and fight and not give up. That’s in my nature.

“I’ve got to say after 80 minutes (on Saturday) we didn’t look like we had a lot of that. But after that 80-minute mark when we got that little bit of hope, we showed it again.

“I want to put a team on the pitch that the supporters are proud of, that they are excited to come and watch and that’s the bare minimum that I’m trying to do here.

“This two-week period is a blessing for us where I’ll get them fit. We’ve got a bunch of games coming up that is not against the top half of the division so we’ve got to make those