Ebbsfleet boss Daryl McMahon has called for cool heads in the heat of battle when his side host Kent rivals Margate this Saturday.

Six points clear at the top of National League South, the Fleet are looking to slow Margate’s resurgence under new manager Nikki Bull.

Blues have only lost once under Bull’s leadership and they arrive at Stonebridge Road boosted by back-to-back wins against Maidenhead and Chelmsford.

McMahon said: "They’ve got some very good players down there and they never were going to be relegated in my opinion.

"They’re a very good side and Nikki’s gone in there and probably got them going again.

"He’s made them hard to beat, they’re on a bit of a roll and they’ll give us a hard game.

"I think they’ll come here to win. It’s a Kent derby and they’re a little bit different to normal games.

"They’re a little bit more open and emotional – a little bit more fierce – so I think it’ll be the team with the coolest heads, to stick to their game plan, that will be the victors on Saturday."

Ebbsfleet have only won one league game at home since November, but their overall record is better than McMahon thought it was.

He said: "I looked into the home form after the Truro game (a 0-0 draw on January 9) and we’ve got the second-best home form in the league. That surprised me, considering I’m not particularly happy with it.

"Maidstone are top but we’ve played one game less at home and if we win that we go top of the home form guide.

"It did surprise me, but it’s still something I look at and go ‘we need to do better’."