More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Dennis Kutrieb wants to wipe the smiles off Ebbsfleet players’ faces.
The Fleet boss felt Tuesday night’s game against Maidstone was all a bit too friendly.
It lacked the intensity of derby matches back home in Germany, according to Kutrieb, who wants to see more of a nasty streak tomorrow when Fleet host Kent opposition again in the form of Tonbridge.
“I expected much more intensity because I’m used to that when I see past derbies," said the former TB Berlin manager.
“It didn’t feel like a derby but, as I’ve said many times before, without fans, that’s really hard.
“Everything feels a little bit like a friendly, like a pre-season game, and then it’s hard for the boys.
“In Germany it would be more intense, a little bit more nasty between them.
“Here, it’s a little bit more we are all friends on the pitch.
“Of course, they know each other or many of the boys know each other.
“In Berlin it’s the same, they know each other, but for a derby it stops for 90 minutes.
“Here, I saw many smiling faces from Maidstone and from us and, to be honest, I’m not happy with it because a derby you have to win, you have to give everything to win.
“I’m not happy with it but I have to learn, I have to adapt to many different things, so I will see how it goes on Saturday.”
Kutrieb says it’s possible to put a nasty streak in players, even if it doesn’t come naturally to them.
It boils down to mentality, as far as the manager is concerned.
He said: “Of course, you have to talk about many different things then you can bring it into the boys but that needs time because it’s a kind of mentality.
“I talked about this with the boys now many times. It’s not about if they are able to play football or if they are able to defend, it’s more mentality to really want to win the game and dominate opponents.
“That’s a little bit what I miss at the moment.
“They showed good character in the second half at Chippenham on Saturday, and we come back and win the game, and we had the great game against Hungerford in the second half.
“That’s the sort of mentality I want to see but I don’t want to see it once a month, I want to see it every week.
“That’s about progress. You can’t get it every game and every week when they are not used to doing it.
“We are aware and we want to bring the boys exactly to this point that they get this mentality."
