Defender Joe Martin didn’t realise just how much other teams would want to beat Ebbsfleet before he signed for the club.

The Fleet’s full-time status and big wage bill means they are the envy of many in National League South, but after a distinguished career in the Football League it’s been a new experience for Martin at Stonebridge Road.

The 34-year-old joined Ebbsfleet in the summer of 2021 and has been impressed with how the squad have coped with that added pressure this season.

“Every team is desperate to beat us, you can see how sides celebrate when they take a point off us,” said Martin. “It’s an issue that isn’t going to go away.

“Since I’ve been at the club, I’ve noticed it. I didn’t really know that was going to be the case before I joined Ebbsfleet but I noticed it early on.

“People try to make it a nasty game. When you play a good style of football, people have this perception that there’s an arrogance about you but that’s not the case. It’s just how we like to play.

“People look at our set-up and talk about budgets, and that’s why they’re desperate to beat us as they’ve got nothing to lose more often than not but we’ve come so far this year and now we just need to finish the job.

“If we’re on our A-game then we should beat every team in this league, that’s a fact. More often than not, we have done that.”

Martin had been sidelined with a calf injury since New Year’s Day but has made a welcome return to action in recent weeks.

Injuries are, unfortunately, an occupational hazard for footballers as they edge towards veteran status.

“I’d like to have been fit longer this season,” added Martin. “I enjoy playing at Ebbsfleet, it’s a good way to play football and I’ve not always been at teams that play the way we do.

“It’s just one of those things I’ve got to manage as I’ve got older. For me until I finish playing, I will have to manage my body better than I have done.

“It can be a few things, the change in playing surfaces, managing my load during the week, and as you get older you tend to pick up more injuries.

“I think I can manage it quite well and hopefully I stay fit now to the end of the season.”

With Omari Sterling-James, Josh Wright and Billy Clifford all scoring their first Fleet goals in the past week or so, Martin has got his eye on his first goal of the campaign as well.

“I think this is only the second season in my career that I’ve not had a goal,” he said.

“I usually get two or three a year so I’m hoping that I might be able to notch one before the end of the season to keep that run going.”