Performances remain the key for manager Daryl McMahon as Ebbsfleet bid to break into the National League play-off places.

Home wins over Leyton Orient and Hartlepool came either side of defeats at Wrexham and Woking and those results have left Fleet four points and five places outside the top seven.

They haven’t won back-to-back games since October 3 and for all their potential, McMahon knows that has to change if they’re to be serious promotion contenders.

He said: “It’s about being consistent now. What have we done well in both games? We’ve worked hard, been organised, committed and showed the quality we’ve got as well.

“But you’ve got to do it every week, not just now and then. Then you become a successful team and we’re working towards that.

“We’re still a baby in the sense of being back in the National League.

“Some of these players have been in National League South for two-and-a-half years, so getting back to a higher level sometimes takes a little bit of time.

“Hopefully, now we’re getting where we need to be. Performances are the key thing for me.

“If you perform and you lose, you can accept it but when you don’t perform, it’s an issue.

“We’ll try to finish as high as we can. I’ve said from the start of the season and I haven’t changed my mind, that we’ll try to be competitive. I think, without a doubt so far, we have been.

“In two matches – Torquay and Woking – we haven’t been competitive and we got beat both times and deservedly so.

“But across the board we have been competitive and we’ll see what happens in the second half of the season. I expect us to get stronger.”

McMahon could certainly have a stronger squad available by the time Fleet play again on December 9. They were due to visit Maidstone on Saturday but the derby was called off as a result of Stones’ FA Cup commitments.

McMahon said: “The injured players have got an extra two weeks to get back. It’s a great time for us to have a weekend off, recharge and then get ready for Guiseley.

“Dave Winfield, touch wood, will be back and Jack Payne won’t be far off either. Bradley Bubb, we’ll see and Febian Brandy’s got this window to get fit. Dean Rance and Kenny Clark have got tight hamstrings so they need a rest.”