New signing Danny Mills believes Ebbsfleet can challenge in the top half of the National League next season.

Mills, 26, signed for the club on Monday having left Whitehawk after almost five years.

The 6ft 4in striker gave Fleet’s defenders plenty of headaches in National League South and now he can’t wait to pull on the red shirt and join them in non-league’s top flight.

Mills said: "Any team that gets promoted, the main objective should be to at least keep yourself in that league and establish yourself.

"But with everything that’s available at Ebbsfleet and the players here, there’s no doubt in my mind the football club should be in the top half of that division.

"With the ambition there, a top-10 finish is not out of the question.

"Like any club coming into that division, there’s players that might not have played at that level or not played at that level for a while and it might take a while to get going or make a few changes here and there.

"But with the full-time training, the facilities and the club as a whole, next season, who knows what can happen?

"If you can get a little run of games, you might be touching the play-offs."

Mills played almost 80 games in the Conference earlier in his career while on loan at Histon, Kettering and Tamwort from parent club Peterborough.

He said: "I haven’t played in the league for five years and it’s changed massively. It’s got a lot better.

"The standard of clubs in there now is high but my loans will definitely stand me in good stead.

"I’ve been lucky enough to play in good games at that level, in front of big crowds and that will help me now."

Chatham-based Mills works at David Lloyd in Kings Hill, less than two miles from the Fleet training ground.

He said: "I’ve been doing a lot of travelling over the last five years so the opportunity to step up, train full-time and be local, it was just perfect for me.

"Sometimes, things happen for a reason. I’ve been putting various things in place for me to have the opportunity to give football a real good go.

"This was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

"I had various options in the National League and National South but when I looked at it and speaking to various players that have been at Ebbsfleet or are currently at Ebbsfleet, it didn’t make sense to go anywhere else."