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Dennis Kutrieb is warning in-form Ebbsfleet “the world could look completely different” if they allow themselves to now become complacent.
The Fleet are top of National League South and progressed in the FA Cup last Saturday, beating Dover 2-0.
Ebbsfleet visit Hungerford in the league this Saturday before a trip to Oxford City on Tuesday.
“They are two tough games, two completely different challenges - one on grass and one on 3G,” said Fleet boss Kutrieb.
“One really tough game against a side that’s fighting hard, trying to get back to where they were last season. The other team [Hungerford] is struggling a little bit but they’re a good playing side.
“So, different playing styles but we will be up for it.
"If we don’t pay enough attention, the world could look completely different after the Tuesday game.”
Hungerford come into the match after a 3-1 FA Cup home loss to Gloucester, which was a third straight defeat. The Fleet, meanwhile, have scored 27 goals in nine successive wins.
Kutrieb said: “It’s amazing to have this run but it can be gone on Saturday if you’re not aware, if you’re not up for it, and you don’t deliver the basics in the right way. We try to implement it day-by-day.
“We just need to have this approach because we always create chances. As you saw on Saturday, we scored two but we could have scored five or six. That just comes with hard work and, if you do the hard work, you get the chances to score.
“If you’re ruthless, score your goals, you win games, and that’s what we need to do.”
Complacency doesn’t seem like something Kutrieb would allow to creep into his team’s play, though.
When beating Andy Hessenthaler’s men in the FA Cup, with top scorer Dominic Poleon and defender Sido Jombati on target, he could still be seen enthusiastically and relentlessly dishing out instructions to his players who were 2-0 up in the final stages of the game.
Kutrieb explained: “If you get complacent and show complacency off the pitch or on the pitch, you get punished straight away.
“Just stay in the game because it’s 90 minutes’ work and we have to be up for it, push the boys, encourage them to do the right things and work hard.
“That’s what we do during the week so there’s no reason to stop it on game days.”
Former Gillingham frontman Greg Cundle scored twice in last Tuesday’s 4-0 success over Braintree but he wasn’t named in the squad against Dover.
Explaining his absence, Kutrieb said: “If you see his statistics, he’s outstanding for us, with such a high work-rate. You need to be careful because he can’t do it every three days.
“At one point, his body will ask for recovery and could get injured. So we tried to make the decision before he gets injured to say ‘Okay look, we’ll pull you out. You have done enough in the last games so we’ll give you a rest’.
“Now, we have two more tough games where we need him again. Maybe get a rest now and we can make more decisions. But he’s fine, he was outstanding on Tuesday night.
“We rested him on Saturday and he’s fresh and healthy, hopefully, for Saturday and Tuesday.”
Midfielder Kieran Monlouis also came off in the first half against Dover with an injury but Kutrieb said: “First information I’ve got is that it’s not too bad, but I don’t have any more information. We will just see.”
Poleon is already on 10 goals this season but he also showed the unselfish side to his game against Dover when he set up strike partner Rakish Bingham for a chance instead of going for glory himself - although Bingham's effort went inches wide.
But Kutrieb was pleased to see that approach from Poleon and added: “That’s what we are asking for because it’s not an individual game, it’s a team game. If someone wants to play individually, they need to play a different sport!
“We need to be a team, we need to stick together, as tight as possible, because there will be times where we need it.
“It’s good to see they have a good bond together. They can help each other, they can push each other, encourage each other.
“I can try it from the sidelines but, if the second striker encourages the other one because he missed a chance, that’s how it should be in a perfect world. They have a bond.
“They both missed massive chances and they now can help each other lick their wounds.”
Fleet have been drawn away to Hanwell Town in the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round on October 1.
