DENNIS KUTRIEB doesn’t think about Ebbsfleet United‘s play-off heartbreak every day. But he does think about it.
“It’s not easy,” Kutrieb says. “I think it sticks with you forever. It will never be gone. It’s not like, ‘Oh yeah, I am over it’. Even after eight wins I kind of suffer.
“But I am a positive man. It doesn’t matter what happens, it’s always for something. At the moment it looks like that it was there that we needed to feel the pain.
“But that can change and maybe it will be different again. But it will never be away from me. Even in five years I could tell you every second from the game because that’s what you will always remember.
“That’s similar to very good experiences. The good and bad will always stick with you. You can be broken after it or come back stronger and say, ‘OK, I don’t want to ever experience the same again if possible. So we need to work harder’.”
And that’s exactly what the Fleet have done with a response so resounding and definite. Eight wins from their first eight games, including 25 goals in the for column.
That they only sit two points clear of the National League South, even at this early stage, is because Havant & Waterlooville are enjoying an almost equally brilliant start, winning seven and drawing one of their opening run before this weekend’s FA Cup break.
And Kutrieb knows there is no letting up. His side saw that in the Promotion Final when they were seconds from beating Dorking Wanderers only for the hosts to equalise to force extra-time that they went onto win.
Kutrieb questions if that defeat in the final could have felt any worse because of how close they were.
And so it was straight to work, getting their recruitment finished early to complement the 17 players who have stayed on.
“First and foremost they are very good human beings, positive and nice people,” Kutrieb says. “I’d rather have people around me that have good character than a player with good quality and a bad character.
“That’s what we tried to implement this season. It was the third time we could make changes in the summer. From the first to the second to the third I think we’ve got better and better. Obviously we know the leagues better. I came from abroad so I just needed time to know all the leagues, know players, abilities and qualities – I’ve watched so many football games from England.
“If you have more and more knowledge you can find the right pieces. But, again, it’s just hard work.
“We just had one addition, Toby Edser, who was late but he’d been with us from the first week of pre-season just without signing a deal. Everyone else was signed and that was key because we could work all pre-season.”
Kutrieb is in season three of his career in England. The 42-year-old was seen as a left-field appointment when he arrived from Germany in 2020 where he was enjoying success at the helm of Tennis Borussia Berlin. Since then, his fresh eyes have helped him learn – and fast.
“It takes time in general and, of course, every single game you learn more and more about the league, players, opponents in general, other managers,” Kutrieb says.
“I would say I was good enough with our team last year to do it. It’s not, ‘Now we know more, now we can do it’. One thing in England that is very obvious for me is they change so many things in the summer. You rarely find the same team again after summer.
“Chippenham, on the first day of the season, we knew very well because we’d played them in the semi-final and a few weeks before that. That helped because they haven’t had massive changes.
“But when you see Braintree on Tuesday night, it’s not many from last season. It’s the same at other clubs where you have new management – teams like Dartford or now Weymouth and Dulwich Hamlet – that can change everything.
“So I can’t say, ‘Yeah, now I know everything’ because it changes. Even during the season. It’s very different to my experience in Germany. Even when you play a team a second time there can be eight new players. You always have to be on your toes.
“But, in general, I can see many things and that helps. I would say this has been our best recruitment and that’s because our knowledge is getting better and better from season to season.”
Kutrieb believes that freshness is an advantage because he has no preconceived ideas on players or teams.
He talks about the honest two-way relationship between him and CEO Damian Irvine and the importance of telling players how it is. He also heaps praise on his players, especially after their incredible start.
“It’s credit to them because they are focused,” he says. “They tick the box for the last one and try to get ready and prepared for the next one.
“They are really professional. We try to get everything on board for them. They execute gameplays really well, they take care of themselves, do their recovery right. When we’re off they’re not just hanging around, they take care of their sleep.
“All these little things where you can be a few percentages mores successful, they really take care of those. We are very demanding but that’s because I want to win games.
“When they win games they have a very easy life with me – and that’s what they want to have!”
