Neil Cugley says the combination of hard work and a change of playing style is beginning to pay-off.

The Folkestone Invicta boss saw his side beat Chipstead 3-2 at Cheriton Road on Wednesday night to climb back into the Ryman League Division 1 South top-10.

Player-coach Darren Smith, Josh Burchell and a penalty by Phil Stevenson were the scorers.

He said: “We are not bad at the moment and have turned the corner in the last few weeks. We are becoming hard to beat and any team who does (beat us) will deserve it.

He added: “We have had to change our style because of the players who left like Darren Marsden and Stuart King. We are playing with more passion and commitment, closing teams down quickly and getting around the pitch better.

“Phil has done well at right-back and Nat Blanks has something about him, who goes out and has a go for me.”

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Cugley may well still be of interest to Margate, having spoken to them at the beginning of last week.

However, reports suggesting he had turned the job down already proved premature, with the Thanet club appointing Craig Holloway as caretaker boss.

Cugley added: “Whatever happens (with Margate), I would always come back and sit down and talk to the people here because they have been loyal and good to me.”

Invicta hope to complete a Kent hat-trick against Tooting at Imperial Fields on Saturday. The South London club have lost against Faversham and Ramsgate in the past week.