Manager Dennis Kutrieb puts emphasis on substance, not style, despite Ebbsfleet's classy opening-day win over Chippenham

Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb is putting points before performances despite an exciting start to the season.

The Fleet, complete with six new faces, opened the National League South season with a comprehensive 3-0 win over 10-man Chippenham last Saturday.

Summer signing Omari Sterling-James caught the eye with his blistering pace and silky skills while Toby Edser and the returning Darren McQueen both netted.

“Omari has good pace and is a good footballer and, even more importantly, he’s a good character,” said Kutrieb.

“He fits into our team very well so I’m happy to have him.

“Darren and Toby both came on and scored a goal so they’re good additions and that’s what we were looking for in the close season.

“It’s not about being exciting, it’s about getting the points. If you do it the right way, and that’s what we try to do, then it’s even better and it’s more interesting for everyone, including the fans.

“But for me, at the end of the day, as a manager there’s nothing more important than getting the points.

“We’ve got some interesting players this season, though, and the boys we’ve kept from last year have made an immediate impact - Rakish Bingham, Christian N’Guessan and Chris Solly through the middle gave us a strong spine.”

As with last season, Kutrieb will not be making any judgements about his players until they’ve played 10 games.

He feels there will be enough evidence to assess their chances at that stage.

“You can always see after 10 games where you are because you have a different amount of challenges in those matches,” added the Fleet boss.

“On Saturday we had the challenge of starting the first game, then being a goal up and having one man more. It was a good challenge for us because we got it done in a good