GRAVESEND & Northfleet officials are quietly confident the club’s new zero tolerance on indiscipline has persuaded the Football Association not to activate the £10,000 suspended fine hanging over Stonebridge Road since the end of last season.

The FA imposed the punishment in response to last term’s appalling disciplinary record. Since then the club have attempted to clean up their act with the introduction of a new code of conduct for players which, if breached, renders the offender liable to punitive measures.

So far this season, 49 Gravesend players have been yellow-carded while eight have been dismissed. This compares with Accrington’s 66 yellow and nine red, which is the worst disciplinary record in the Nationwide Conference.

In addition, no Gravesend player features in the Conference’s worst 22. Club secretary Roly Edwards said: “We have not heard from the FA, so maybe we have satisfied them that we are doing all we can to improve our disciplinary record.

“I’m not saying it’s perfect but it is improving. When we were called to Soho Square last January to explain our record we promised to improve. As we have not heard from the FA, maybe no news is good news.”

The Fleet’s board of directors would be loath to hand back any of the £70,000 earned from the club’s extended run in the FA Cup.

The club are giving a trial to former Sunderland midfielder Billy Bone, who was among the substitutes at Exeter on Saturday. He recently arrived back in England after playing in Malaysia and Japan

Striker Louie Evans has been allowed to join Dr Martens League, Eastern Division King’s Lynn on a month’s loan, while Pat Gradley has moved to Ryman League, Division 1 North side Boreham Wood.

Chief executive Glenn Aitken has confirmed that the club are in the process of improving signposting to Stonebridge Road thanks to help from the Football Foundation and Gravesham Borough Council.