Ebbsfleet United’s new training ground and manager Steve Brown were the reasons none of last season’s squad turned down new deals at Stonebridge Road.

That’s according to Fleet vice-chairman Peter Varney, who believes the club’s new base at Cobdown will help them attract top players in the future.

And with 13 members of the 2013-14 squad having agreed new deals in the last month, Mr Varney stressed how important Brown had been in those negotiations.

He said: "Steve’s the biggest factor. This is a massive endorsement to Steve and the management team and what they’re trying to do, to develop players. Not a single one of them wanted to leave.

"I’ve had a chat with all the players and the big thing for all of them is they believe Steve can improve them. It’s a huge statement. There are usually one or two who will leave but these boys were prepared to take a pay cut to play for him.

"Some of our existing players have been offered far more money to go elsewhere and some of them had three or four clubs after them. This is why the training ground and the sports science regime, which David Jupp is overseeing, is so key.

"Some of the players are losing money by training three days a week but they’ve all bought into what we’re trying to do. We’ve now got to deliver."

Brown and his backroom staff will take training three mornings a week at Cobdown from July, a switch Mr Varney believes will be hugely significant.

He said: "It’s been our plan to move to almost full-time training, three days a week. We’re getting the academy established, so we can start to produce home-grown players and having a proper training base means we can get all that done.

"It will help us, going forward, to attract players to the club."

Full story in the Gravesend Messenger.