Ebbsfleet striker Rakish Bingham won’t beat himself up about missed chances any more.

The 28-year-old has cut a frustrated figure at times this season, despite already having five goals to his name.

That tally could have been much higher with Bingham not enjoying much luck in front of goal at times, but experience has told him not to let it play on his mind.

“As a striker I don’t get onto myself too much as I know if I keep working hard then you do reap the rewards eventually,” explained Bingham, who netted in last weekend’s 5-0 win over Taunton.

“It’s easy to get worked up, it’s a lot more difficult not to get worked up. I guess it takes experience and years of playing.

“When I was younger, I’d have it on my mind and be thinking about it when the next chance comes. But now it’s a case of ‘it’s gone, next one’. The best strikers in the world, even someone like Erling Haaland can miss one or two, but they’re still there for the third chance.

“I’m able to switch off easily now and reflect more on what I contribute to the team. If you feel that you’ve contributed, regardless of whether you score or not, it’s a good feeling and, of course, the team comes first.

“As long as we’re still winning and getting positive results, you don’t beat yourself up too much.”

Bingham thrives on being the Fleet’s talisman. He was a big miss during the second half of last season when injury ruled him out for two months.

But he’s taken his all-round game to another level this season.

“The way we play I feel that I take a lot of responsibility in what I bring to the team,” he explained.

“Even when I’m not scoring, it’s just the quality that the team depend on me in certain situations. So as long as they’re happy for me to provide that, then I’m happy to keep on doing it.

“It’s just the standard that you set yourself. I’ve set myself a high standard and the team has as well as we want to do big things this season. As long as we don’t beat ourselves up too much, individually and as a team, then we’ll be good.”

Bingham netted 17 goals last season and his overall Ebbsfleet tally stands at 33 goals in 63 starts and nine substitute appearances.

But he brings much more than goals, his partnership with top scorer Dominic Poleon will give National League South defenders plenty of nightmares this season.

Bingham underlined that link-up last weekend with a delightful cross to give Poleon a tap-in on the stroke of half-time.

“We always banter about the assists and I say he hasn’t given me an assist yet but there’s been a few games where he has set me up and I haven’t scored it!” smiled Bingham. “I’m sure it will come at some point.

“Me and Dom have worked together for quite a long time now and I know him inside out.

“I know what makes him tick, what works for him and vice-versa. We know how to get each other going and that’s a good thing.

“He definitely brings the best out of me. It helps that we know each other off the pitch away from football so that helps build relationships on the pitch as well.

“I know the best through ball for him or the best pass, where his attributes shine through and when he’s through on goal he’s a big threat.”

Ebbsfleet’s approach this season appears to be more ruthless.

Bingham believes that’s come as a direct result of their play-off final heartache against Dorking Wanderers, a defeat he described as a “trauma”.

He added: “It’s in the back of our minds for the players that were here, and we don’t want to leave it to things that are out of our hands.

“We want to do our business on the pitch, keep winning and try not to get ahead of ourselves. I know it’s a cliché but keep applying ourselves and the wins will come.

“I think sub-consciously, it’s there. You don’t think about it all the time but there’s moments in games where you might be on top but you know you have to maintain that and not take your foot off the pedal, or manage certain situations a bit better.

“It’s helped in that sense, you can almost feel it on the pitch and we’ve transferred it to the new lads.

"Everyone has bought into this mentality that we’ve got and it starts from the gaffer [Dennis Kutrieb].

“We’re all a good, honest bunch of lads who want to do well and help each other. I feel that if we can maintain our levels and keep going as we are then we’ll be okay.”