Folkestone manager Neil Cugley cut a despondent figure after last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Ashford – and he didn’t try to disguise the way he felt.

"Have I depressed you enough?" was his parting shot after delivering a caustic assessment of a game which he felt was poor entertainment for the 734 derby crowd at Homelands.

He added: "I thought it was a poor game to be honest, especially for a derby match.

"You expect some passion and a bit of quality for the supporters in matches like this but we were poor and Ashford weren’t much better.

"If we had come here with the side we had at the start of the season, we would have won, no question, and it makes you a bit frustrated to see what we’ve got now. We have got to try to improve but

we don’t look like scoring goals."

The one minor consolation for Cugley was that goalkeeper Jack Delo, signed on a short-term loan from Ramsgate as an emergency replacement for Charlie Mitten, did nothing wrong and will face Sittingbourne at home this Saturday.

Cugley said: "Charlie has got a badly bruised toe and he might be fit for the week after."

The Whyteleafe home game, postponed on December 13 because of a floodlight failure just before kick-off, has been rearranged for next Tuesday (7.45pm).