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Kevin Watson will not change his ways in a bid to land the Ebbsfleet job.
Watson has impressed during his fortnight in charge at Stonebridge Road – winning for the first time in Tuesday’s FA Cup replay at Woking.
Ebbsfleet are playing a more entertaining brand of football and, having assessed his squad, Watson will not have it any other way.
“That’s the way I believe this group of players will get results,” said the caretaker Fleet boss.
“I think it’s obvious that the previous games playing in a slightly different way they weren’t getting results so I’m not going to stand here and play a way that has been proven (not to work).
“I played the game myself, I was a sitting midfielder, and I like the ball being played and passed around at tempo with an end product.
“If that gets me results, it does, and if it doesn’t then I won’t go reverting to another way which I believe this group of players can’t do. I don’t think they can do it.”
Watson, who started his playing days at Tottenham, is quite adamant on the way forward for Ebbsfleet.
He is gradually making progress on the pitch and a good run of results in the weeks ahead would make it difficult for Ebbsfleet not to give him the job on a permanent basis.
His public audition continues this week with trips to Sutton on Saturday and Chorley on Tuesday in the National League.
“Football is getting it and passing it through the middle of the pitch, getting it wide, putting crosses in and having shots,” said Watson.
“I’m not going to change something that suits these players. If you’re chasing games and you need to throw a big man up top to equalise or get a winner then sometimes you do it.
“We’re not Manchester City so we will need to do it sometimes. But the way I coach is to get the ball and pass it to someone in the same colour shirt as you, whether they are five yards away or 20 yards away. That’s the way I believe the game should be played.”
Watson is keen his team do not overplay in defence – and it nearly proved their downfall at times during a first half they otherwise dominated against Woking last weekend.
“There’s a time and a place,” said Watson. “I don’t know if you could hear me in the first half when we were messing around with it on the edge of our own box but that’s not football.
“Sometimes the ball needs to go, they were taking me too literally sometimes. We were 1-0 up at half-time but there were harsh words in the dressing room – I don’t want the ball being messed around with and put at risk around our goal, that’s not football.”
Watson has drafted in former Maidstone and Billericay sports scientist Craig Lewis in a bid to boost his squad’s fitness.
