West Ham co-chairman David Gold believes good times are ahead for Ebbsfleet United under their Kuwaiti owners.

Mr Gold, a friend of Fleet vice-chairman Peter Varney, was at Stonebridge Road on Saturday to watch their Skrill South game against Bath City.

And the man with an estimated fortune of £350million is confident Ebbsfleet’s foreign backers have chosen wisely by placing their trust in the former Charlton chief executive.

Mr Gold said: “Peter’s been fantastic. The new owner couldn’t have picked a better man to orchestrate this rejuvenation and long may it last.

“It’s amazing. This is what happens. All fans are constantly in hope that somebody’s going to come along and invest some money into their football club.

"It’s great when it happens to your football club and that’s what’s happened here.

"It’s great to see a club like this coming back from a sorry state. It’s quite vibrant.”

Signing semi-professional players on short-term contracts may be a world away from clinching multi-million pound deals on transfer deadline day but Mr Gold insists prudent ownership is just as important in non-league as it is at the top.

He said: “Running this football club is no different to running a Premier League football club.

"It’s the same principles, the same good governance, sensible ownership, all of those things.

“They’re all the same no matter what level you’re playing at. It’s just that the numbers are different.”