Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb conceded there was a lack of belief during Saturday’s defeat to FC Halifax.

The Fleet have won just once in their last eight games in National League and sit three points outside the relegation zone.

It’s a far cry from the champagne, confidence-flowing football of last season on their way to the National League South title - and recent results have eaten away at that belief on and off the pitch.

“No-one really had the feeling that we were going to win the game, especially after we went 1-0 down,” reflected Kutrieb.

“I think even our fans were not really believing that we’d win the game once we went a goal down.

“We tried to get things right at half-time but we couldn’t get going over the whole game. The effort was there and we tried hard but we looked so fatigued, especially mentally fatigued.

“I think when I see the numbers from the stats and running, we’ll be alright, but mentally fatigued to do good and right decisions, to put the ball in the back of the net, to defend well, to make smart decisions like the opponent did.

“They got every single free-kick they wanted to have, we didn’t get anything. It’s not like the referee is so bad, it’s they do it smart and we don’t do it smart. That’s because we were mentally fatigued.”

It’s still a learning curve but the Fleet boss felt his team selection has been limited in recent games.

Normally, he makes five or six changes when faced with a run of matches in quick succession.

But Kutrieb named an unchanged side at Eastleigh last midweek and then made just two changes against FC Halifax.

“We can learn every single week,” said Kutrieb. “These seven games in three weeks has been a tough time to take.

“Usually, I’d say the squad is big enough and we can do this or that but in the last three weeks this has (not been possible).

“If I could pick another time to have this run of games then I would. Joe Martin is so important for us, Greg Cundle is so important for us, Dominic Poleon is so important for us – I’ve just named three players from last season who made a massive impact when they played.

“All these players will help us in two or three weeks as they will make us stronger.

“It's purely down to energy levels. There are things where I can see if the boys are too fatigued to risk. If you have already a small group, you can’t risk too much that you pick up more injuries so you need to be even more precautionary.

“David Amoo hasn’t played for ages so he was just fatigued on Tuesday after the game. That’s why I subbed him off as he was really tired, that’s how hard he has worked. Then I risked him by bringing him on again on Saturday.

“Do you really want to risk it if you’re not sure when other players are coming back? If you have a full squad, you can always rotate and say this might be right for this game or that game, and you take it from there.

“But if you have too many injuries or players who are not 100 per cent and you don’t want to risk them, then you always have to make smart decisions, even if you don’t like it.”

The Fleet’s league defeat to FC Halifax was the complete opposite of when the teams met at Stonebridge Road nearly a year ago, Ebbsfleet winning their FA Cup First Round tie 2-1.

Report: Ebbsfleet 0-2 FC Halifax

“I would say it’s day and night,” admitted Kutrieb. “We should be much better than we were one year ago but you could see a year ago we were flying in the league, full of confidence and we were the underdog. We were fighting all over the pitch and could surprise them with how we play.

“Now we are part of the league and they are better prepared about what we do, we are struggling with bodies and they had more confidence as they got a late win on Tuesday night while we had a heavy defeat.”