Ebbsfleet midfielder Tom Phipp has spoken about his relationship with manager Steve Brown after being sent out on loan to Maidstone.

The 21-year-old was one of four players Brown kept at the club when he succeeded Liam Daish in the summer.

Phipp was a regular under Daish but has played only 25 minutes of league football since Brown took over at Stonebridge Road.

And he's spending a month with the Stones in the Ryman League Premier Division to get match-fit after so much time on the sidelines.

He said: "I could see I wasn’t going to be involved too much at Ebbsfleet. I spoke to Browny and he wanted to get me involved (at Fleet) but he was worried about my fitness. The best thing, he said, was to go out and get games, come back in a month and be in a position where I can have an influence on his selection.

"He’s the manager and I respect him. But working under Liam Daish was so different to working under Steve Brown.

"With Daishy, everyone knows what he’s about and although when Browny came in, I knew a little bit about him, I didn’t know much. I was learning about him as much as he was learning about me.

"Recently, we’ve spoken more, and I’d like to think we’re honest with each other. I think I’ve been training quite well lately and I’ve started to earn the respect of the coaching staff.”

Brown said: "I’ve had several discussions with Tom about going on loan. I made it clear that he’s an Ebbsfleet player and will remain an Ebbsfleet player. I want him to come back fit and compete for a spot in the first team.

"We’re three months into the season and he does need to get games under his belt. Every time I’ve thrown him on, he runs out of steam, because his fitness levels aren’t where they should be."

Read the full story in the Gravesend Messenger.