Peter Varney wants Ebbsfleet fans to turn Stonebridge Road into a "cauldron of noise" on Monday by drowning out Dartford in the north Kent derby.

Fleet are expecting a crowd of more than 3,000 and their vice-chairman believes support from the terraces will influence what happens on the pitch.

It’s more than three years since Ebbsfleet hosted the Darts in a league game and, with the National League South title on the line, Mr Varney has called on home fans to roar their team to promotion.

He said: "The big message for Monday is that I know the Dartford fans will come here and get right behind their team because it’s a local derby.

"Our fans can make a difference. We need to turn it into a cauldron of noise here on Monday because it’s such an important game for us. We need them to be our 12th man.

"They’ll be well supported, we’ll be well supported and we’re hoping on a Bank Holiday we might even get a crowd with a three in front of it because it’s a big game locally.

"Even if you look at it without where we are in the league, the gate was 2,800 when we played them in the FA Cup (in 2013-14) so 3,000 is more than realistic.

Ebbsfleet’s average home gate this season is 1,172 and Mr Varney is eager to turn the numbers into noise in their last three home games.

He said: "One of the problems when a team’s doing well is that it can become ‘go on then, impress me’ and we can’t have that here on Monday.

"We can’t have that approach from the terraces of ‘I’ll respond when you respond’. We need them on Monday to lift the players."

Read the full story in the Gravesend Messenger.