Margate boss Nikki Bull says he is working daily to extend the stay of Ebbsfleet duo Sean Shields and Matt Johnson.

Midfielder Johnson, 25, and wide-man Shields, 23, arrived at Hartsdown in early December but are due to play their final game of the spell when Gate host Maidenhead in Vanarama National League South on Saturday (3pm).

Bull said: “As it stands it is going to be their last game but I have been delighted with both of them since they have been at the club.

“I think both know their chances are going to be limited at Ebbsfleet. They are going to win the league and will be going up to the National League and I expect they are going to be looking at players from League 1 and 2.

“I think they want to come back but it’s also down to the finances. I am in daily contact with Ebbsfleet and working hard to do a deal.”

Maidenhead is the first of three home games in four weeks for Gate - all of which are against sides they have not yet faced this season.

Bull said: “It’s strange the way the fixture list has played-out. We are over halfway through the season yet there are five or six teams we haven’t even played yet.

“It’s going to be a big month for us. We obviously have had a good run and the seven points from four games over Christmas and the New Year means we have pulled away from the bottom, but we are not so far away that we can afford to stop looking over our shoulder.

“We have a good squad and we have aimed to be harder to beat. We have 19 games to go, if we can keep doing the right things then I think we’ll win more than we lose.”

He added: “I have always been a player who kept an eye on the league and other teams, though obviously I’ve taken it to the next level since becoming a manager.

“I’ll trawl through YouTube highlights and track the comings-and-goings and suspensions to come up with a gameplan, and I have got one for us against Maidenhead.”