Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb praised his players’ character after they gained a much-needed win on Saturday.

The Fleet responded from their heavy defeats at promotion rivals Dorking and Maidstone by defeating Hampton 1-0 thanks to Will Wood’s second-half winner.

“I think every win is important to be honest,” admitted Kutrieb. “Of course, after two losses and heavy defeats you need to find the right solutions to get back on track and I was very impressed with the boys.

“They showed a great performance and showed great character, worked very hard - especially in the first half - and could have had the lead there at least with a penalty but I think the first 10 minutes we had two or three good chances.

“I am happy with the boys because the most important thing is that you have the three points, nothing else, and that’s what we achieved.”

Kutrieb made five changes from the side that lost at Maidstone, reverting to a back four as well as bringing in the likes of Kieran Monlouis, Wood and Ben Chapman.

The changes had a positive effect on the Fleet but Kutrieb stressed it doesn’t mean it’s always going to be the right formation for the remainder of the campaign.

“We saw a great game from Kieran, a great game from Woody, Chapman played a great game, so I think everyone who came in did a good job for us,” said Kutrieb.

“Maybe it was a solution for this game but we have the next game in three days (against Dartford) and it’s not always about finding solutions for different players, sometimes it’s important that you can rest a few players if you’re not mentally prepared.

“The most important thing to me was to see the reaction from the boys. They have the right character and even when we conceded nine goals in two games and everyone was aware that’s not good enough, and we need to make sure we find a right solution.

“The boys need to work hard on the pitch and that’s what they’ve done, and that’s the reason why I’m impressed with them, even if the win could have been a little bit easier had we scored in the first half.”

Wood claimed his second goal of the campaign on his first appearance since December 11.

Kutrieb explained it’s one of the reasons why he likes to utilise Wood on the right of midfield.

“That’s what we see in training sessions all day long,” said the Fleet boss. “He is definitely able to do it, that’s the reason why he plays that position as he can be a big threat.

“Of course, he hasn’t played many minutes in the past (month) and you could see he was a little bit tired later in the game. But if we get him fit 100 per cent, he is all day long a very good player for this league.”

Ebbsfleet’s busy schedule continues with a trip to Dartford on Tuesday night, the sides both sitting in the top five of the table.

“We are prepared for Dartford,” added Kutrieb. “I’m looking forward (to it), it’s a great game, a great derby like we could see (at home) it was a fantastic atmosphere. Everyone was ready to go, our players were ready to go, our fans were ready to go.

“Hopefully we have a few more than 300 allowed (at Maidstone) last Tuesday and I’m pretty confident we will have a big support on Tuesday and that’s what the boys needs at the moment.

“We don’t have the rub of the green - still not - and we just need to work hard and that’s what the boys do, and why they deserve the support from the fans.

“I’m really looking forward to the game because it’s always good and intense to play such important games. That’s the reason we do it, because we want to play these games.”