Ebbsfleet boss Dennis Kutrieb has urged his players to dig deep in a bid to turn their slump in form around.

The Fleet have won just one of their last 10 games after being dumped out of the FA Cup at Slough in a Fourth Qualifying Round replay on Tuesday night.

They sit three points above the relegation zone but visit AFC Fylde this Saturday and Southend on Tuesday night - two teams below them in the table.

“We’re still positive as the point will come where we find our winning way and as soon as that starts the confidence will grow,” said Kutrieb.

“We need to grind out some results because that’s not happening without putting the right attitude and efforts in.

“Every defeat hurts me personally because I know what they’re able to do and capable of doing. On the back of last season with so many wins and good performances, you can see this is the other side now where you suffer big time.

“Sometimes you have to suffer badly in football, we had a little spell last season when we had to suffer with four defeats, but this is a bit more difficult. We knew about the situation for a few weeks and now we’re in a tough period and we need to overcome it somehow.”

So does Kutrieb hold a post-mortem into the FA Cup or build his players up ahead of their trip to AFC Fylde, who are four points adrift at the foot of the National League?

“I would say a little bit of both,” said Kutrieb. “We will have a clear chat with open and honest words because it’s just not good enough. We have to speak about it and accept it.

“But it’s not about I want to smash them now because the next game is on Saturday and if I can’t give them confidence, then who else will?

“At the moment we’re struggling with confidence so the only two parties that can do it are me and the fans, and no one else.”

The Fleet shipped four goals at Gateshead and six away to Altrincham, both long away trips that saw them travel up by train on the day of the game.

They’ve opted for an overnight stay before the Fylde match and Kutrieb hopes it will make a difference come Saturday afternoon.

“Fylde is longer as well and it’s not easy to go there by train,” he explained. “We decided to go on the Friday because one extra day gives us a bit more freedom to arrive at the stadium having not had a long trip.

“We need to change a few things, anyway, and I think this is a good start, go one day earlier and get everyone focused on the football. We get closer together as a team and are aware that we need to be tight together.”

The Fleet signed up Jordon Ibe last week but there doesn’t seem to be any other new signings on the horizon, according to the Fleet boss.

“We are not stupid and we know Jack Wakely was a big loss, and Rakish Bingham was a big loss,” said Kutrieb.

“The challenge is finding the right players for us in the market. If we find the right player then we’ll do something but at the moment there’s nothing on the table.

“If this changes then we’ll do something. It doesn’t make sense to bring someone in who isn’t better than the boys we have, just to show something up.”