Kuwaiti owner Dr Abdulla Al-Humaidi says the redevelopment of Stonebridge Road will make a huge statement to Ebbsfleet’s rivals and the local community.

Fleet are spending £5million on a new main stand which will be built by construction company TSP this summer and should open by October.

Dr Al-Humaidi signed the contract with TSP director David Grief on Saturday and hailed the significance of what will eventually be a complete transformation of the old stadium.

He said: "Signing this contract opens a new chapter to this football club and as we’ve said from the beginning, the aim is to make this club self-sustainable financially.

"With the stand, there will be lots of income streams and hopefully the dependance on external sources of financing will be eliminated.

"It will also make a big statement. We could do a similar stand for £3.5million but we chose to go with the better options and we ended up signing a £5million contract.

"We will make a statement in the area, a statement to the other football teams and a big statement to the fans and the community in this area that we – and me personally – are in for the long run."

Dr Al-Humaidi also praised the work done by Daryl McMahon since his appointment as manager – Ebbsfleet’s third under the ownership of KEH Sports – in April.

He said: "Daryl has been magnificent. He’s done well and I didn’t expect that to be honest before the start of the season.

"He’s a smart individual, a professional character and he’ll grow with this football club.

"There was some element of risk (when we gave him the job) but then again, he’s been at this football club for a while. He was caretaker for two spells and did well during those two spells.

"Why bring somebody in from outside, who’d want to change the entire set-up, when we have someone who has tried twice before and done well?

"He knows the set-up, he knows the structure, he was academy manager and they were doing well so we made the right decision appointing Daryl.

"The style of play has been magnificent. It’s not boring football, it’s beautiful football and this is one of the reasons why I try to attend as many matches as possible."

Read the full story in Thursday's Gravesend Messenger