Derby delight for Ebbsfleet will send them top of the table – but manager Dennis Kutrieb couldn’t care less.

The Fleet host Maidstone in National League South on Tuesday night, trailing leaders Dartford by just three points with three games in hand.

It means victory will take them top of the table but Kutrieb says he needs to make sure that doesn’t become an unwelcome distraction.

“Perhaps it’s a small problem because if the boys are getting distracted by the table, it’s always a problem,” said the Fleet boss.

“You need to make sure you bring the right performance on the pitch, if you do that then you get the right result. If you have a result then you’ll be in the right position in the table.

“If the boys or even me look at the table then perhaps we get distracted. That’s the reason I don’t do it, because it’s not necessary – bring your performance and you get the result, then the table is a table. The only thing we can be concerned about is if players get carried away by looking at the table.

“We have three games in hand but it means nothing, you need to win Tuesday, next Tuesday and the next Tuesday – then you can say, ‘yes we’re good’. It’s one quarter of the season so we haven’t achieved anything so far.

“I’m happy because we get the points, we deserve to get them. They work hard for everything and if they keep doing that then we get our results and will be in the right place in the table. The table doesn’t matter, if you believe me or not, I don’t look at the table. It’s 11 games so it means nothing.”

Facing Maidstone will be a step up in class from the weekend’s opponents in Welling.

Stones got back to winning ways against Chippenham on Saturday and Kutrieb is well aware of the challenges facing his side.

“We need to work hard for 90 minutes and then we get the right result,” said the Ebbsfleet boss.

“They definitely have a better team (than Welling) and they got a result on Saturday to bounce back a little bit so they will be a little bit more confident.

“We’ve seen them in a few games so we know already their approach and we will be ready as always. Tuesday is a game where we deliver the basics right, if we don’t concede we have a big chance to win.

“I really appreciate that we got such an impressive win in the derby on Saturday, it means a lot for the fans and the players as well.

“If we get another three points on Tuesday then it would mean big things for the fans.

“We need to make sure we bring the basics and if we deliver that right, then we will have a chance to win as well. But it’s a new game, we start again at 0-0 and we have to work hard again to get a result.”

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