Dr Abdulla al-Humaidi says culture will be more important than cash when Ebbsfleet aim to improve for a fourth season in a row.

Fleet's owner praised manager Daryl McMahon for leading the team to sixth place in the National League and the play-off semi-finals.

He'll back McMahon in the transfer market again this summer but insisted: "It's not just the finances that matter.

"It's the team spirit and togetherness of the squad. That's more important than finances. But Daryl has our support and will continue to do so.

"He's done a great job. If you look at his win percentage, it's probably ranked in the top level nationwide.

"The football that gets played is really attractive to the eye and this is his first season in this league.

"There was always the fear of coming into this league and not knowing what we were against but he now has a clear idea in terms of what to face.

"If we'd started well this year, we'd have finished quite high in the table. Daryl's learned and the football club has learned."

Dr al-Humaidi was at Prenton Park on Saturday to see Ebbsfleet beaten 4-2 by Tranmere Rovers.

He said: "I'm disappointed that we lost the match but happy with the good season we had.

"If the players had proper rest (instead of playing three days earlier), we would probably have won but this is football.

"I'm quite happy with the performance of the team in the entire season. They played really good football and I look forward to next season. Hopefully we can do something special."