Ebbsfleet boss Garry Hill will rotate players to get his small squad through the packed Christmas fixture list.

Fleet host Braintree on Boxing Day and Eastleigh on Saturday before heading to Braintree on New Year’s Day.

That’s followed by a long trip to Chesterfield on January 5, after which Hill will assess his squad again.

“It’s a mountain of games,” he said. “We’ve not got the biggest squad so we’ll try to manage the players as we go into each game.

“At the minute, you could be the 19th man. That’s where we are. We go to work with 18 players.

“We’ll make the most of our squad in every game because we want to still hang in that chasing group if we can.”

So does that mean Hill is actively looking for new players?

“I’m working within a structure,” he said. “I keep my house totally in order.

“I work within the structure which is right financially and if something comes along hopefully I could turn round and have a chat.

“I’m not over-keen to be looking for players because I’m very pleased with the squad of 18. I know 17 are under contract and one of them is there until the end of January – Freddy Moncur, with a view – and we take it that way.

“I’m not going down the line of what I think has gone on quite a bit, having far too big a squad or trying to increase numbers for the sake of saying: ‘we’ve got him and no one else can have him’.

“I’m very happy as long as we stay clear of injuries and illness. At the moment, with the two goalkeepers, I’ve got five natural defenders who I can move about, six midfield players and four who can play up top with Freddy as the 18th man.

“We’ll have a look at the structure going forward after January 5, how the club sees itself, in what position.

“I’m working within the means of the football club sorting a lot of things out in a positive way trying to go forward.”

Braintree arrive bottom of the National League for the Boxing Day game (3pm) but Hill is not taking them lightly.

He said: “I don’t look at where they’re sitting in the league. You don’t take anything as a given because it doesn’t happen in this league, you can see that with Dagenham winning at Salford.

“It is an important period for every club and with two home games now, we are looking to get a good return of points.”