The new clampdown by referees has been welcomed by Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb - as long as the approach stays the same.

The Fleet manager had players booked for kicking the ball away in Saturday’s National League opener at Rochdale and had 14 minutes of additional time signalled by the fourth official.

But he’s happy if that’s the way forward, as long as it applies to every game.

“In general, I think if the approach is clear then I don’t have a problem with any rules,” said Kutrieb.

“If the referee tells me I can’t step out (of my technical area) and he cautions every single person who steps out straight away then I’m fine with that, I won’t step out.

“I don’t care about the rules, the big thing is I want to see them approach every single game the same way, not in this game yes, in that game no, or in the first half yes, in the second half no.

“As long as it’s understandable for everyone I don’t care, even with kicking the ball away and all these little things. I like it if we have more game time as I always back ourselves to create more chances.”

The additional time will present a new challenge for managers, who may delay their substitutions. It also means that players are covering even more distance in matches, with Kutrieb revealing his players reached the 13km mark at Rochdale, and he wants the Fleet to think smart with football’s new approach.

“Extra time will definitely be a challenge for everyone as you need to have people playing for 105 or even as much as nearly 120 minutes, it’s like a game of extra time,” noted the Fleet boss.

“We had players who ran 13km on Saturday and that makes me proud because that’s the basic of football, it’s what we have done all pre-season. Now we get the rewards because the boys are fit, that’s what I like about seeing them ‘suffering’ on a Saturday afternoon.

“It's just starting now so we need to see if it’s just for the first gameday or not. When you read the media, you can see everyone is moaning about it.

“For me, it’s not about moaning, it’s about getting on with it and being smart enough to understand how you can approach it in your favour. For example, what you need to consider is if the referee gives five minutes in the first half without any reason, then you can be sure the second half will be longer with substitutions.

“So, you need to be ready to play extra minutes and have players on the pitch that can deliver for 100 or 110 minutes.

“You need to adapt as quickly as you can in football in general, it can be when you’re in a new league like we are now or with a new manager or a new owner, with a thousand different things.

“But it’s always good if you can adapt quickly, we just need to see and observe and then make the right outcome for us and smart decisions.”