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Sport

Ebbsfleet United manager Daryl McMahon says the pressure is on Sutton United in National League South title race

By: Steve Tervet

Published: 00:00, 31 March 2016

Ebbsfleet boss Daryl McMahon insists Sutton are the team under pressure in the National League South title race.

Third-placed Sutton are six points behind leaders Fleet with three games in hand having gone 19 league games without losing.

Ebbsfleet remain odds-on title favourites with the bookmakers but their destiny is no longer in their own hands following an Easter weekend which brought them just one point from two games.

Ebbsfleet United manager Daryl McMahon Picture: John Westhrop

McMahon said: "This is the first time that we are not the team in control to win the league. The pressure is firmly on Sutton now and they’ve got to come up with the goods.

"It is what it is, there’s nothing we can do about it. We could have picked up more points in this last bit but going into the last few games, we’ll see what happens. It is firmly in Sutton’s hands to go and win the title and the pressure’s on them now.

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"We are still top and they have to win the games to make the points up.

"I’m sure they’ll fancy their chances of doing that but they have to go and do it."

Fleet have only lost one of their last 13 league games but seven draws during that run have allowed Sutton and Maidstone to catch up.

None of the top-three won on Easter Monday and McMahon’s side could extend their lead by winning at Hayes & Yeading on Saturday.

Hayes are one place and three points above the relegation zone, having lost 5-2 to their York Road landlords Maidenhead on Monday.

Ebbsfleet were held to a 1-1 draw by Dartford on Easter Monday Picture: John Westhrop

McMahon admitted his players looked "jittery" during the 1-1 draw with Dartford at Stonebridge Road but expects them to stand up and be counted in the final month of the season.

He said: "I don’t think they’ll go hiding. Anyone can underperform or have a day when they don’t play well but I don’t think this is a team that lacks character at all.

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"We’ve got four games to go now and we’ll see where it takes us.

"The league’s been distorted for a long time because of the games the other two have had in hand.

"We don’t actually know where they’re at and we probably won’t see that until the last week of the season.

"It’s getting to that stage of the season where you’ve got to be able to play under pressure, you’ve got to be a good decision-maker and you’ve got to be able to handle that."

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