LIAM Daish is confident Ebbsfleet will beat the drop despite slipping into the dreaded relegation zone after last night’s 1-0 defeat at Salisbury.

Sean Clohessy’s early strike consigned the Fleet to their 15th defeat of the campaign but they do have five games in hand on Grays Athletic, the side immediately above them in the final safety position.

Daish said: “The fact we’ve only played three league games since January 27 certainly hasn’t helped us.

“We’ve lacked playing in the cut and thrust of Conference football a bit because we simply haven’t had enough league games.

“Now we’ve got a backlog of fixtures where we are going to be playing Tuesday, Thursdaty and Saturday until the end of the season, which is going to make it even more difficult.

“We’ve got to pull together now and get some points on the board.

“I’ve got to say though I would rather be in the bottom four now than in the final two weeks of the season with only a few games left.

“It is up to us now to go out there and get some results to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Daish also claimed the absence of striker Michael Gash with an ankle injury had been a factor in last night’s loss.

He explained: “Salisbury is a tough place to go anyway but it is even tougher when you give away a goal after only four minutes.

“It was difficult from then on and it was very hard to put any sustained pressure on them because they closed us down after scoring so quickly.

“We had to change things around again because of Michael’s injury, which was a blow because it would have been a game he would have thrived in.

“He would definitely have given us something extra.”

The good news for Fleet fans is Daish rates Gash as 70-30 to play in this weekend’s visit to Kettering.

“I am optimistic Michael will be back for that one,” added the head coach.

“It is going to be another tough place to go and we’ve got to make sure everyone stands up to be counted from the very start, something which didn’t happen at Salisbury.

“Kettering are a strong, direct and physical side and we need to match them in all areas.

“If we can do that from the start, then I’m sure we are capable of getting something from the game.”

The league is Ebbsfleet’s only priority now after last Saturday’s heartbreaking semi-final Trophy defeat at the hands of Stevenage.

Daish says he was proud of his players for their effort and commitment on the day in trying to get back on terms after the 3-2 first leg reverse, but added perhaps a return to Wembley just wasn’t meant to be.

“I couldn’t really fault anyone out there,” he said. “Their keeper made some very good saves and their two central defenders played very well.

“When I am stood here saying that about their keeper and centre halves, that tells you everything you need to know about how well we played.

“I feel sorry for the players but the Trophy hasn’t been kind to us this year with the amount of injuries to key players we have suffered along the way.

“To get to the semi-final the year after winning it is an achievement in itself because the history books will show you there aren’t many teams who do so the year after winning it.”