Ebbsfleet United fly to Portugal this weekend for a pre-season camp which manager Daryl McMahon believes could set the tone for the next nine months.

Two training sessions every day from Saturday until next Thursday will help raise fitness levels but the time away from the pitch may prove even more important.

Four new signings are coming into a squad which didn’t gel sufficiently last season and McMahon is determined to form one united group during the time abroad.

He said: "It’s a bonding trip, getting to know people. I don’t mean that in the old-school sense, I mean that in the sense of getting to know people and being around people, talking, getting to know each other a little bit better in terms of the new players coming in.

"Sometimes, outside your car school, driving to training, you don’t have an hour-and-a-half to meet your team-mates because you don’t see them for that long.

"We’re together for a week out there so we’ll get to know each other a lot better, which is important.

"Everyone saw what happened last year. There was a big change from Browny’s team to Jamie Day’s team whereas my team, going forward, is a mixture of both – the ones I want to keep and the ones I’m bringing in.

“That’s my team. I’m not changing everyone else’s team, I’ve kept the players I think are good enough to get us out of this league and that will develop to become good players with this club.

"If they’re already in the building and I feel they’re good enough, I’m not going to change them. Why would I? It’s stupid.

"The lads will develop and become a tighter group – and that’s everywhere. It’s important for the whole club because it is a fantastic club behind the scenes."

Read the full story in the Gravesend Messenger.