New Ebbsfleet boss Danny Searle has only been in charge for two games but he’s not afraid to make big decisions.

Searle was named permanent manager on Tuesday - just a fortnight after initially replacing Dennis Kutrieb on an interim basis.

But he’s made such a big impression since arriving at Stonebridge Road that Ebbsfleet couldn’t look anywhere else.

Searle has already demonstrated a bold managerial style. He set his team up with an attacking 3-5-2 formation at runaway National League leaders Chesterfield on Saturday.

But, realising that his team were in danger of being swept away, Searle changed his formation as soon as Chesterfield went 2-1 up. He knew he couldn’t afford to wait until half-time.

By the time the Fleet restarted the game, Ben Chapman moved to right-back, Rakish Bingham had dropped back into midfield and Fleet reverted to a 4-5-1 line-up.

“We prepped for it,” revealed Searle, who planned the potential change with assistant Anwar Uddin, coach Chris Solly and goalkeeping coach Jeff Richardson.

“We did it in our pre-match and said if I make the call then everyone needs to know where they’re going to go. We needed to make the changes.

“If we had waited, Chesterfield could have been out of sight and I think that’s part of your management growth. It’s one of the things I’ve been working on within myself, understanding the key moments in games where you have to make changes.

“I think we did that well and it’s not just me, it’s Anwar, Chris and Jeff. We had a conversation and worked together to make sure we got it right.

“If we are umming and ahing on the sidelines then we’re not sure who’s going where. We literally put two teams up, we worked on an in-game change where we didn’t have to make a sub to get us into a back four.

“Then we worked on if we had to change it at half-time, what would we look to do if we were in a four or in a three? That way, it’s clarity for the players.

“I’m not saying it’s going to work but you’re not flapping around saying is it me or you? As soon as I called it everyone walked into their positions and we all knew what we were doing.

“That’s the work we need to do on a weekly basis so these players have got an understanding of what is expected of them.”

Tactically aware, the Fleet also seem to have more energy in their two matches under Searle’s stewardship.

The head coach revealed that the players have always covered good ground, he’s just got them doing it in a different way now.

“It's a change in the type of running,” disclosed Searle. “I’ve looked through their running stats for the whole season and they’ve always covered good distances, but it’s the high-speed running and sprint distance that needed to improve from my perspective.

“For the Oldham game on high-speed running, I think eight of the starting XI hit their season high. That’s a testament to taking the messages on board and, like we said to the lads, get subbed and come off absolutely dead because you’ve done so much work.

“We’ve got an unbelievable bench where they can come on and finish the job for you, and I think we’ve shown that.”

Ebbsfleet have collected unexpected draws with Oldham and Chesterfield but the next three games will go a long way to determining their survival prospects.

The Fleet host out-of-form Eastleigh this Saturday and Woking on Tuesday night before travelling to Dorking Wanderers on the following Saturday.

“Three good sides, really good sides who are capable of upsetting big teams,” warned Searle.

“Eastleigh, I know they lost 3-1 to Chesterfield, but up until the sending-off they were in the game. I know a few of their players well and they’re a good side.

“You can’t just assume that because we’ve gone to Chesterfield and got a point that it makes it easier for us in the next game - no, it doesn’t.

“That’s why the National League is so great and it gets the coverage it does. It’s a phenomenal league and it’s going to be very tough but, again, it’s another challenge that we’ll look forward to.”