Joe Howe is back in the Ebbsfleet team – and he’s determined to stay there.

The 26-year-old has played second fiddle to Chris Sessegnon in recent months but started against Staines on Saturday, with the former Dover player suspended.

Howe, a fixture in the Fleet side under Liam Daish and the first-choice right-back at the start of this season, lost his place when he suffered a groin injury in October. He sat out 11 of the next 13 league games but, having looked solid on his return to the team, plans to make the No.2 shirt his own again.

Howe said: "If any player comes in and does well, it’s his shirt to keep. Browny’s not going to play anyone because he feels he has to, it’s who deserves the shirt on a Saturday.

"Chris Sessegnon came in, did well and he kept his place. Now there’s an opportunity for me to grab the shirt back and hopefully I can do that."

Howe’s injury ruled him out of the Fleet’s FA Cup clash with local rivals Dartford and he sat on the bench during their club-record nine-match winning streak.

"The timing was terrible," he admitted. "In a way, though, it was a little bit my own fault. I’d been carrying the injury for a couple of games but I never said anything, I thought I’d try to keep going.

"A lot of players don’t want to give up their place to someone else. But, in the end, I had to. It was too sore.

"The boys put together a great run of form and I couldn’t expect to walk back into the side. I had to be patient. I’m not the sort of character to sulk and moan, I get my head down."