“It’s a brilliant setup at Ebbsfleet and it was really important to align myself with a club that allows me to play football on the front foot and the way I want to play it,” Watling told the club website. , external

“I want to develop people here, and what I saw on the pitch on Tuesday night [a goalless draw against Aldershot], I loved the commitment, the honesty and work rate, and the quality on show.

“It was a marker for the bare minimum I want to see and now myself, David and John can’t wait to get started in front of the Fleet fans on home soil against Hartlepool on Saturday.”

Fleet have just two draws from their first eight games of the season and are three points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Watling is the third man to be in charge of the club this year after Searle succeeded Dennis Kutrieb in January and steered Ebbsfleet from the relegation zone to a 19th-place finish last season.

“We are very strong on getting the right characters into this football club through rigorous processes, people who are devoted to the job, to the club and to their desire to succeed. Harry is one of those,” chief executive Damian Irvine said.

“With a new up-and-coming manager in Harry assisted by someone as hugely respected, experienced and successful in the industry as David Kerslake, our new management team will be getting to work immediately to deliver those results.”