Dean Rance admits Ebbsfleet must stop conceding early goals to give themselves a chance of climbing the table.

Fleet were behind inside three minutes against Havant on Saturday and they gave Bromley a 16th-minute lead in midweek.

It’s becoming a common theme this season and midfielder Rance knows that has to change.

He said: “We’re making individual mistakes and conceding first isn’t helping.

“We’re giving ourselves a mountain to climb and teams are sitting in to defend a lead.

“We need to be more solid as a team and get the first goal.

“It’s frustrating because we talk about all the things before the game – start fast, keep it solid at the back and try to get the first goal.

“But we’re 1-0 down in 16 minutes and they’ve got something to hold onto again.

“Bromley came here low on confidence but we’ve given them a leg up, whereas if we score when we’re on top, it’s a completely different game.

“They’ve got to come out and we can find holes which they’re going to leave when they have to come out of their own half.”

Manager Daryl McMahon is under fire after a six-match winless streak but the players also have to take responsibility.

Rance said: “We’re the ones on the pitch that can change it. We’ve never had this string of results before, so it’s a first for us.

“I’m sure we can turn it around. We’ve got the group.

“We’ve got the togetherness in the changing room and we know we’re a good team, but we need to start showing it and turning the performances into results.

“Too many times we’re dominating games and coming away with nothing.”