STACY Long believes Liam Daish’s job as Ebbsfleet boss is going to be harder than ever after the club’s budget was drastically reduced.

Long was released by the Fleet at the end of last season as the reality of the financial problems at Stonebridge Road began to hit home, a point further underlined by the departure of assistant manager Alan Kimble earlier this week.

Daish has already been told by the club’s owners MyFC he must operate on a weekly budget of £5,000 next season, probably one of the smallest in the Conference.

And Long believes his former boss will need to call upon all of his experience to guide Ebbsfleet through difficult times.

He said: “The club is obviously in a lot of trouble financially and it is unfortunate the team Liam built last year can not stay together.

“It is a real shame because there was a lot of potential there with young players who wanted to stay.

“I honestly believe everyone there last year did want to stay, including me.”

He added: “I don’t know how they are going to do next season.

“It was always tough for Liam anyway financially but now it is going to be much harder.”

Long confirmed he is about to complete a move to Stevenage Borough at the end of this week, ending speculation about his own future.

“I’m on holiday at the moment but I understand it is all going to be ironed out with Stevenage in the next couple of days,” he said.

Long will be sorely missed by the Fleet faithful and the 24-year-old midfield ace was keen to praise them for their support over the last three years.

He said: “They have been fantastic and made me feel comfortable straight away.

“It makes a real difference to a player when the fans take to you like that.

“They are part of the team in many ways and playing at Stonebridge Road was a real bonus because even though it is a bit of a football cliché, they really were our twelfth man.”

Meanwhile, MyFC members are set to decide the future of striker Michael Gash by Friday.

Gash is set to join another Conference club for £30,000 but the move will have to be approved by the website’s 10,000 members first.

The striker scored 12 goals since arriving from Cambridge City last summer, although his former club will be entitled to 30 percent of the transfer fee if the switch is approved.