By Matthew Panting

Manager Liam Daish has urged Ebbsfleet’s owners not to sell the club’s remaining star players.

Only three senior players are on contract at Stonebridge Road and Daish has revealed for the first time that he wants to build his squad around them.

MyFootballClub members have rejected two bids for striker Michael Gash and a cheeky £10,000 offer from York City for defender Darius Charles in the past week.

"If I lose them, then it weakens my position," insisted Daish. "I’m not surprised the members turned it down. We’re in a position where we want to keep the lads that are on contracts.

"We need to keep them and then boost the budget – and quickly. We need more than five players on contract."

Ebbsfleet have surprisingly conducted negotiations for Gash and Charles via their members. The bids for Gash, believed to be from Luton and York, have been worth £30,000 and £40,000. The sale of John Akinde, for an eventual £175,000, saw negotiations conducted by Daish until the fee reached a level that was acceptable to the club.

But in a desperate bid to boost membership of MyFootballClub, any offers for Gash and Charles have so far been put to a vote.

Daish added: "I have my valuations. The bids that have come in are the first offers and it’s still very early.

"It would be foolish to take the first bid and snap their hands off. It’s wise not to rush into it.

"I’ve spoken to Michael. He is obviously concerned with what way the club is going and I appreciate that."

The Fleet boss also knows that if the club do cash in on their prized assets in a bid to increase his weekly budget, it won’t be easy to replace them.

"We’ve got to realise that they are taking up close to 50 per cent of the weekly budget," added Daish.

"I’ve still got to replace them (if they go). It’s not a case of letting someone go and they are going to be replaced. They are not going to be replaced by a player on £200 a week.

"You just don’t go and get one off the shelf for less money."