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Ebbsfleet United manager Dennis Kutrieb deserves credit for successful Plan B against Wealdstone, says skipper Chris Solly

05:00, 18 January 2024

updated: 09:02, 18 January 2024

Ebbsfleet coach Chris Solly has praised manager Dennis Kutrieb’s ability to change his ways.

The Fleet boss has been criticised by some sections of supporters for sticking to his footballing principles.

Ebbsfleet captain Chris Solly. Picture: Ed Miller/EUFC
Ebbsfleet captain Chris Solly. Picture: Ed Miller/EUFC

Playing out from the back has cost his team cheap goals in recent months and Kutrieb showed a different side in their last game against Wealdstone - the closest he has probably come to ‘percentage’ football since arriving in England.

Ebbsfleet’s disciplined display was key and they had enough firepower when the chance came along to claim a much-needed National League win.

“It’s definitely good management because if you can spot something that’s not working, adapt it, and then we go and get three points, then credit has to go to the gaffer,” insisted Solly.

“He’s seen stuff over the past few weeks or months, and known we have to adapt slightly. The gameplan he set up worked.

“I think he’s clever in what he does. He speaks to certain players and gains their thoughts throughout the week but ultimately, it’s the manager’s decision and he’ll have his way that he wants to go into the game with.

“He speaks to a few of the senior lads and I speak to him regularly. But it’s good management to know that we’ve got to adapt and that’s what we’ve done.

“With the position we’re in, we need to fight for points week in, week out. I know one stat and we haven’t won back-to-back games yet so that’s the next challenge.

“It was a good step against Wealdstone but that’s all it was, we need to follow that result up with a little run now.”

Solly, who made more than 300 appearances for Charlton, featured for the 100th time in an Ebbsfleet shirt against Wealdstone.

They’ll need all that experience and more during the months ahead.

“It’s tough. You can’t lie, it’s tough,” explained Solly, when talking about Ebbsfleet’s poor form of just two wins in 20 games before beating Wealdstone.

“You come in every day and obviously the atmosphere is nowhere near as good as when you’re in a team that’s winning every week.

“But we’ve got a lot of senior lads in there, a lot of experienced players who have probably been through similar situations - I know I have before - and you take things from that, things that you felt didn’t work or did work previously, and you use that.

“We’ve got to keep spirits up, the gaffer is good at doing that and we’re all on the same page. I think that showed against Wealdstone, the 11 out there and all three subs that came on contributed and we’re all looking to go in the right direction.”

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