Ebbsfleet head to their season opener at Rochdale following a heavy loss in their final pre-season game - one their boss hopes they can benefit from.

Manager Dennis Kutrieb is taking the positives from Saturday’s 6-2 defeat at home to Chelsea’s youngsters, a result which he hopes will serve as an eye-opener ahead of their National League season.

He said: “They played a very strong team against us, a very young team, very energetic, they hurt us in transitions especially but there were lots of good things for us, positives to take away where we have to learn, where we have to do better.

“Everyone in the team can see where we should have done better. It was kind of an eye-opener for our players and everyone can see exactly where we can do better in certain areas and that is why I was very positive after the game because that was exactly what we needed.”

Kutrieb’s side have enjoyed plenty of positive results prior to the weekend, with only League 2 Colchester United beating them. Wins have come against the like of Leyton Orient and West Ham under-21s.

But the manager knows all outcomes are useful in pre-season.

He said: “You always have to be careful that you don’t get carried away with results, yes we know that results in football are the only thing that really matters, but for me as a a manager it is more than just the result.

“They punished us for our mistakes, simple as that. The basics were there and we tried to be resilient, we tried to defend, we played with high intensity and I could see positive things as well.

“It is always important to win games but for me it was very positive - the players can see exactly where they are.”

Fleet’s boss is now ready for the season to begin. Their opener against Rochdale is the first of the season to be broadcast live on subscription channel TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport), with a 5.30pm kick off at Spotland on Saturday.

“It was a perfect time for us to stop now,” said the manager.

“It is always a long time for the players, obviously as a manager, you can always have a longer pre-season because there is much more you can do and you can prepare.

“I think we got all the basics done that we wanted and then we can try and improve from there, which is why I am happy. I am ready to go, the boys are ready to go, we don’t want to wait any longer and where we need to improve we can do that during the season.”