Work to demolish the Plough End at Stonebridge Road may not start until the end of the season.

Ebbsfleet fans who sit and stand in that part of the ground were originally due to be evacuated last summer so work could begin on the construction of a new stand and hotel.

But vice-chairman Dean Pooley has revealed the old red roof now won’t be pulled down this side of Christmas.

He said: “Supporters won’t see changes for a few months. We’ll have about three months’ worth of design team meetings and preliminary work.

“There’s so much that goes into it, like with the new main stand. There was so much more going on behind the scenes before even a shovel went in the ground.

“You probably won’t see any movement in the ground until towards the end of the season. That’s all got to be programmed around fixtures and when’s best to manoeuvre fans around.

“We’re looking to start imminently, as soon as possible but there’s still some footwork to go on with the design team.

“Now we’re working with an outside entity as well – a hotel chain – there’s more bodies you’ve got to discuss with.”

“But we’re pushing along quite nicely. We’re getting close. Abdulla (the chairman) has been over for three weeks, working closely with some partners back in Kuwait to get the project up and running.”

The Plough End houses Fleet’s most vocal fans so when it comes down, so might the volume.

Pooley said: “The cluster of Fleet supporters that congregate under the roof creates such an atmosphere.

“As and when the time comes to bring that down, trying to relocate that noise is going to be important to us.

“Getting the demolition done in the off-season would cause less disruption but if we could start sooner – and I’m not saying we are – it gets us ahead of schedule.

“But there’s a lot of logistics with health and safety and emergency access in and out of the stadium.

“That part of the ground is quite a tight area so once that becomes building site, it’s going to be a lot more difficult to manage than the main stand was.”

Stonebridge Road now holds 4,769 with more than half the capacity at the uncovered Swanscombe End.

It’s used exclusively by away fans when segregation is in force but could the large terrace by split when the Plough End is out of action?

Pooley said: “It all comes down to what the safety officer wants as per each matchday, whether it’s high or low risk.

“With the increased capacity, we can have home fans in that end but it’s not particularly where we want them because it’s not where they’ve been used to being and you lose the acoustics being open-air.”