Ebbsfleet v Swindon Supermarine

Manager Liam Daish is backing Ebbsfleet’s idea to offer fans free entry to the FA Trophy third round round tie against Swindon Supermarine at Stonebridge Road on Saturday.

Club officials hope the initiative gets a good response, as they try to attract at least some of those who followed them to Wembley in May, when Chris McPhee’s winner beat Torquay.

“I hope it all goes well because people have spent a lot of time making it happen,” said Daish.

“It’s a big decision to open the gates and I hope we get the crowd people are predicting. Big questions are likely to be asked if we don’t, about what else to do.

“Wembley was a terrific day for the club but there is no basking in glory at the moment, we have got to get our heads down.”

He added: “Results are everything now. We had a great performance against Rushden but didn’t back it up with another win.

“Our form isn’t good enough at the moment, and we need to quickly rectify that. March and April will soon be here and we don’t want to be down there scrapping for wins then, we need them now.”

BGB Southern League Premier Division Supermarine beat Maidstone earlier in their run.

The Fleet have had mixed news on the injury front this week. Darius Charles was due to have his ankle cast removed yesterday (Wednesday) but Paul McCarthy is still hampered by his long-term hip problem.