Top six target for millenium manager

Buoyed up by three Ryman South wins and an excellent FA Trophy victory at Ramsgate, Folkestone Invicta Neil Cugley is confident that his squad is strong enough to keep them in the hunt for the play-off places over the Christmas holiday period and beyond.

The emergence of youngsters such as Jordan Wright, Callum Wraight and Reece Palmer as promising members of the first team squad and the return to form of the likes of Paul Booth and key defenders Liam Friend and Frankie Chappell, has lifted spirits both on and off the field at Cheriton Road. Cugley has also seen full-backs Nat Blanks and Josh Vincent, keeper Tim Roberts, midfield anchor Micheal Everitt all in top form and front man Ian Draycott continuing to bang the goals in this season.

Cugley, pictured being presented with a bottle of champagne by Supporters Club stalwart Harry Lester to mark his 1000th game in charge earlier this month, said: "I had been talking to a couple of players, but we are all happy about the way things have gone in the last three or four games and that’s no longer a priority. We’ve got a fairly small squad, but I’ve felt for a while we were close to getting a good balance, and I’m not looking to bring more players in right now.

"Making the play-offs again has always been our target and I’ve always believed that once we got into the top five or six we’ve got the quality to stay there. I certainly can’t argue with the view that we need to direct majority of our efforts towards paying off the CVA early next year and we’ll look more closely at our situation once we’ve achieved that."