Chief executive Damian Irvine has vowed Ebbsfleet will bounce back “bigger and better” after their relegation.

The Fleet will play in National League South next August after relegation was confirmed at Aldershot on Saturday.

“I think there’s been a sense of inevitability about it, hasn’t there, for the last month or two,” said Irvine.

“We didn’t do a good enough job in the summer time, didn’t start the season well enough, and the changes we made from a managerial point of view didn’t get the bounce required.

“My thoughts are with the supporters, they’ve been brilliant all season. Even knowing probably that our fate was on the way, they’ve been ever so strong and supportive for the last few months again.

“As I’ve said before, we’ve not been better than 80 per cent of the other clubs that have been promoted into this division for the last two seasons. We’ll be back bigger and better.”

Irvine believes there’s been progress since Josh Wright took over as manager before Christmas. It’s been a tough start for the former midfielder, but the fans have understood the difficult task he’s taken on.

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“I think our supporters are pretty savvy,” added Irvine.

“Since Josh has been in situ, the recognition and appreciation from those fans for performances, some draws, some losses, some wins, has been genuine.

“There’s been one or two amongst them in performances that they haven’t seen what they wanted to see and they’ve let us know.

“But ultimately, what the squad have been doing, they can see the steps and they can see the change from prior to Christmas until now.”

With Ebbsfleet’s fate effectively sealed by the turn of the year, they’ve already had one eye on next season.

“I think you’re always looking for next season, regardless of your position in the table,” said Irvine.

“We’ve been able to have one eye on the probability since Christmas that a relegation was on the table so it’s bought us time.”