Ebbsfleet manager Danny Searle has urged his squad to finish what they’ve started.

The Fleet have given themselves a genuine chance of avoiding National League relegation after a stunning run of form under Searle, winning five and losing just once in his eight games in charge.

However, they sit just three points above the drop zone and a fall-off in results now could yet prove fatal.

It’s likely to go to the wire with the 12 sides above already-relegated Oxford City separated by just eight points.

“Now we need to finish the job,” stated Searle. “We’ve laid the foundations to put everything in our own hands.

“Ironically, we’re the team with games in hand now but we’ve also got a points cushion as well. It’s not like we’ve got to win them to get out of the relegation zone, we’re actually out of it.

“Theoretically we’ve just got to be better than or match three other teams’ results below us with Oxford City already gone. If we match their results then they’ll go down and we won’t.

“We’re in a good position from one perspective but obviously there’s still a lot to do from another.

“It's crazy when you think of the run we’ve been on and we’re still not safe. That’s a credit to all the other managers and teams out there, they’re all fighting for survival.

“For me now, the biggest thing is the integrity of the league and everyone keeps everyone honest. The good thing for us is even if you’re sitting 11th or 12th in the league you could still be dragged into the relegation battle.

“You haven’t really got what you’d normally have at this time of the year where two or three clubs are playing for nothing, because if everyone below them now has a little run they could get dragged in. You’re going to have to keep winning games.”

It means any points targets are off the agenda as far as Searle is concerned. He’s always stated to worry about his own team’s results - and that’s still true now as the season reaches a thrilling climax.

“We could win three and still go down if everyone around us picks up four or five - it’s crazy,” he added.

Read more: Searle’s sympathy for travelling fans

“Every time we’ve got an idea in our head of what it will take, it changes, because two or three teams pick up wins that you didn’t think they potentially would.

“Teams have probably looked at us and thought we’d drop points there and we haven’t. It’s a really tight league and I think all we’ve got to do is focus on it’s going to take seven games to secure it and during that time we’ve got to match or better three of the teams below us and we’ll be okay.”

Searle is urging Ebbsfleet fans to turn out in their numbers at Stonebridge Road on Good Friday (3pm) when they host Southend.

The visitors have already sold out their allocation of around 1,750 tickets.

“These are the games you want to play in,” added Searle. “From my perspective we talk about every game being a test of what our players are about, and Friday’s going to be a great test.

“I back our fans to try and top their numbers so there’s more home fans than Southend but even so it’s a great game to look forward to and start what is a good weekend of football over Easter.

“I’ve seen Southend play live a couple of times already this season and I’ve been impressed with them. They’ve got a good balance to what they do, they’ve got dynamic midfielders and have the ability to go direct into Harry Cardwell and they’ve got great technicians in Noor Husin and Jack Bridge.

“It’s going to be a massive test for us but it’s one that we’re up for. We haven’t played any bad sides yet and fortunately we’ve managed to give a good account of ourselves in most of our games.

“We’ve already had one blip and we’re probably going to have one more but we know we can bounce back from poor performances and bad results as well.

“There will be fine margins in the game and we’ve got to make sure we’re prepped and ready to get what we can out of the game.”

Ebbsfleet travel to Dagenham on Easter Monday, kick-off 3pm.