Garry Hill knows what sort of reception he’ll get when Ebbsfleet visit National League leaders Woking on Saturday.

Hill managed the Cards for six-and-a-half years, leading to them promotion in 2012 and keeping them up in his final match in charge.

This weekend sees him return to Kingfield as an opposition manager for the first time since being let go in May 2017.

Hill said: “I’ve got a very good relationship with the supporters in every way or form.

“I had some great years at Woking but it’s the same whoever you’re playing against, you want to get three points.

“I don’t say to myself ‘because I’m going back there I want to hurt them’ because my relationship with the Woking supporters is second to none.

“I’m sure I’ll be received by the supporters and my respect to the supporters at Woking Football Club will be first.”

Ebbsfleet are second-bottom while Woking stayed top of the table with a televised draw at Hartlepool on Saturday night.

Hill’s side are four points from safety, with only Chesterfield below them, so Hill knows the size of his task.

He said: “Woking are having a tremendous season and it’ll be another tough game.

“People can say it’s only one win in nine (for us) but I look at it the other way. It’s four results out of the last five games.

“It’s not easy when you’re battling against strong teams in this league and you’re low on confidence but I’ve seen the response and the reaction which was needed from the display here against Aldershot.

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“We look at Saturday (a 1-1 draw with Eastleigh) a little bit frustrated because I felt it was two points dropped but that’s how football is when things are not quite going right.

“If someone offered me four results out of the next five, I’d take them straight away.

“We could easily have taken four points out of six from the last two games but the pleasing factor is that it’s two more results and we have to keep pushing on.”

Early indications suggest there isn’t a gulf in class between the teams at the top and the bottom.

Hill said: “I look at the games so far this season and there’s been situations where we haven’t helped ourselves in respect of the manner of the goals we’ve conceded.

“But the only team who thoroughly deserved to beat us out of sight were Bromley. In the other games, we’ve caused our own problems.

“I’m trying to look at the positive side of things. This is a position I’m not used to being in and a position the players aren’t used to being in.

“When you see the character we’ve shown in (four of) the last five games, there’s a bit of consistency getting in the performances.

“Even though the league table doesn’t look strong, we’re only nine games into the season and we’ve only lost one of the last five.”

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