Ebbsfleet’s fringe players have been told to respect manager Steve Brown’s selection choices and wait patiently for their chance.

Six games into The Skrill South season, Tom Phipp (pictured), Osei Sankofa, Chris Sessegnon and Cesc Fakinos have played just 66 minutes of league football between them.

And Brown, who touched on the issue in his programme notes on Saturday, had a message for those on the edge of his starting XI.

He said: “The players are well aware that we have a relatively big squad and at times will need to be patient for a chance to play but I want competition for places and I want the players to push each other.

“The bottom line is, we all want to be successful and it should never just be about one person.”

When asked how the players in question had responded to being left out, Brown added:

“I’m an honest guy and one or two of them don’t like it.

“I’m glad about that. I wouldn’t expect them to cartwheel down the street after being left out. What I do expect is that when they’re picked, they’re ready to go and they haven’t let being left out affect them."

Sessegnon (pictured) has joined Cray Wanderers on loan for 28 days. He played the full 90 minutes as the Wands lost 5-0 at home to Maidstone United in the Ryman League Premier Division on Wednesday night.

Brown said: "After signing Chris from Dover I was very conscious that he hadn’t played competitively since the beginning of January.

"I knew he was going to be short of match practice and isn’t as sharp as I know he can be.

"I feel it's the right time for Chris to get some significant game time. He will have three games in the first seven days of his loan, which is exactly what he needs at this stage of the season."