Elliott Romain still has a future at Ebbsfleet - but he needs to learn his lessons.

That’s the verdict of Fleet boss Dennis Kutrieb after Romain picked up a red card during his loan spell at Eastbourne against Worthing.

The 30-year-old, who also collected a red card for the Fleet in pre-season, is back at Stonebridge Road but Kutrieb is not worried by his disciplinary record.

“It’s not a concern,” stated Kutrieb. “That’s Elliott Romain, he will always contribute 50-50 decisions that can go with him or against.

“In this case it was a second one against him and normally it’s a 50-50. I saw it back on the video and it was all right, it wasn’t too bad. I think a yellow card would have been enough but he was already on a yellow so I couldn’t understand why he didn’t get a second yellow instead of a straight red.

“It is what it is. Sometimes referees want to make decisions and that’s what he has done there.

“I’m not concerned about him, he’s always a 50-50 challenge player and if it goes against him I know he is not a malicious player but obviously he needs to be more careful as he limits himself to get game time. That’s not bad for me, it’s bad for him and I think he will learn his lessons.”

Romain is serving a three-match ban so will sit it out as the Fleet take on Dover in the FA Cup this weekend.

And Ebbsfleet are not looking to send him on loan again.

“His loan is finished but he’s still got a suspension from the red card for Eastbourne against Worthing, so he’s not allowed to play at the moment,” explained Kutrieb.

“He just needs to wait and then he is back with us.

“I never look for players to go out on loan. If someone asks about a player to send on loan then we will always think about it if it makes sense for us.

“Unfortunately, Elliott got a red card but it was definitely a loan that made sense for us because he could get game time in our league.

“I don’t look for a loan deal because I’m happy if I have every player on the training pitch as it helps me a lot. I can bring everyone on the same page and if we need them, they are there to add something to our game.”