Ebbsfleet United manager Dennis Kutrieb praises the contribution of Franklin Domi and Billy Clifford in National League against Aldershot Town
05:00, 18 August 2023
Ebbsfleet manager Dennis Kutrieb insists Frankin Domi and Billy Clifford will see plenty of game time if they maintain their high standards.
The duo impressed as the Fleet made it two wins out of three in the National League after beating Aldershot on Tuesday night.
Neither have established themselves as regular starters so far in their fledgling Ebbsfleet careers, but they’ve both got big roles to play.
“I know exactly what I can expect from Domi, I know exactly where he can improve and I know exactly where he is very good,” said Kutrieb.
“When this is needed on the pitch, we put him on. When we need other qualities, which he (hasn’t got) at the moment, then we let him out.
“It’s always good for me to see because if someone is performing like that he can always be in the mix for the starting XI, I don’t have a problem with it because we just want to win our games of football.
“If him or Billy Clifford are performing like that, they don’t need to be worried about game time at all anyway.
“I said in the winter that Billy was the best midfielder in National League South for me, apart from our team.
“You can see that we just need to work a bit more on his fitness, and we still have to do that, and he will be fine.
“His decision-making is really good, his range of passing and quality on the ball is outstanding.
“We still need to make sure he keeps his feet on the ground as it’s always easy to do it for one game, especially when you come in having wanted to play the first two games.
“He played against his old team-mate from Havant which is something special but we need to make sure he can show it week in, week out.”
Kutrieb made five changes from the side beaten by Solihull last weekend.
It gave a freshness to his team but the Fleet boss also claimed it’s easier to shuffle his pack earlier in the season.
“From my point of view as the manager, it’s easier as you’re still coming out of pre-season where everyone knows what we want to do,” explained Kutrieb.
“That’s why we wanted to sign all our players very early, so everyone is on the same page and we know exactly what we want to do on the pitch.
“You can see there are still many players from last season in the starting line-up as they know already what we want to do, and this is helping the new players to come in and don’t feel the pressure and grow into the team.
“I would never put pressure on new players because it’s normal that they need time. As long as we don’t need them and start to struggle as we make bad decisions on the pitch, it’s fine. That’s why I think, especially at the beginning of the season it’s a bit easier because everyone is on the same page out of pre-season.”
Ebbsfleet make the long trip to Gateshead this Saturday.
The Fleet sit fifth in the table but face a team who got their first win of the season in midweek, 4-2 at Dagenham.
“I wouldn’t judge the first few games yet, after 10 matches we’ll know exactly where we are,” explained Kutrieb.
“Gateshead were promoted last season, they struggled at the beginning but then ended up with quality and they have that in their side.
“They’re a passing team so it will be a great game but for us it’s a long trip and we need to get the preparation right so we have a fair chance to get another three points.”
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