Ebbsfleet boss Liam Daish admits his squad are down to the "bare bones" and is hoping the club can finance some new arrivals.

Fleet have six games left during a frantic January and, against leaders Braintree on Monday, Daish didn’t have enough players to fill the substitutes’ bench.

He said: "We lost Ricky Shakes to illness early on and Clint (Easton) failed to come through a fitness test. We couldn’t name a whole bench because we had two people out.

"Two people out is not a major injury list but it just shows how thin on the ground we are.

"Anyone who can’t see that has their head in the sand. It’s as clear as anything and you don’t need to be a scientist. We’ve got two players out and just 15 fit players, one of whom is a reserve goalkeeper.

"I can (bring players in) but it’s whether the club can and we will find out this week. You can’t go on like that forever because it will catch up with you. We’re down to the bare bones."

And Daish saluted his squad which, despite limited numbers, remain on the fringe of the play-off places.

"We’ve two home games coming up and they will be important," said Daish. "The lads so far have been magnificent and I’ve been proud of them. They’ve brought a lot of enthusiasm back to the club."

Clint Easton (calf) and Ricky Shakes (ill) could be back but Derek Duncan (hamstring) is a doubt.