Jordan Parkes is determined to adapt his game this season to avoid being man-marked out of the action for Ebbsfleet.

Parkes, signed from Hemel Hempstead last summer, burst onto the scene at Stonebridge Road with eight goals in his first 10 appearances.

But just four more followed in his next 34 as the midfielder struggled to impose himself on games.

Parkes said: "I started the season on fire but then didn’t quite get the goals I thought I should have got.

"People started to suss us out, sat a lot deeper and prevented us from having chances.

"At the start of the year, teams were more open, we could play through them and I found myself with more goalscoring opportunities.

"As the season progressed, people started to suss out that maybe I was a threat and I found that man-marking was becoming quite key in and around the box.

"It’s something I’ve got to deal with again. People know what I can do when I’ve got the ball at my feet.

"They’re going to want to stop my shots and stop goals so it’s something I’ve got to do again this season. It’s definitely a compliment (to be man-marked) but it’s frustrating at the same time. It’s a good game plan from them, I suppose.

"I’ve got to do more and change my game to adapt to that."

Parkes accepts there is room for improvement, not just individually, but collectively at Ebbsfleet.

He said: "We conceded a lot of goals late on last season and again in the play-off final. Our game management needs to be better this year.

"At times we were drawing last year, which, when you reflect back, probably could have been a good point but we were searching for the win and, against Margate for instance, and Bath, we conceded really late on.

"We’re always desperate to win but a point isn’t always a bad result in the grand scheme of things."

Read the full story in the Gravesend Messenger.