It is impossible to truly appreciate the impact Neil Cugley has made as Folkestone Invicta manager without speaking to his players.

Hundreds have passed through the changing-room doors at Cheriton Road over the last 19 years and almost all would agree one thing – Cugley knew how to get the best out of them.

The first player Cugley signed when he arrived from Ashford Town in 1997 was Jeff Ross and the winger recalled how, even then, the boss had big plans.

Ross said: "Neil was looking to get the club moving again, out of the Kent League and was looking for one or two experienced players to work alongside the younger players he had.

"I enjoyed the challenge of getting them back into the Southern League and was probably the catalyst for bringing some other ex-Ashford players to the club as well, namely Dave Arter, Andy Pearson, Nicky Dent and Carlton Wynter."

Cugley won his first nine league games and led Invicta to promotion at the first attempt as runners-up to Herne Bay.

Ross said: "He can spot natural talent, players who can fit into the jigsaw of how he likes to play – wide men and balls into the box. He can spot a goal scorer and with Neil being an ex-centre-back, he also knows what’s needed to keep a clean sheet.

"Neil is not only good on the football side but he realises that players spend a lot of time together, travelling and he always had a good social atmosphere.

"You enjoy your football more if you’re comfortable with the other players and there’s things going on that involve the wives and girlfriends and families. That breeds confidence and players want to do a little bit more for you.

"Neil always went that little bit extra to make sure all the players got what they deserved. If there was anything he could get for the players, a nice coach to travel away or a bonus here and there for doing well, he would."

Cugley certainly could spot natural talent. Jimmy Dryden remains the club’s record scorer with 141 goals but it would never have happened without Cugley’s prompting.

Dryden said: "Neil got me into football from day one. I played for kids clubs now and then but I was a late developer. Neil gave me my chance, he’s the one who got me focused on it when I got into the first team.

"He always joked that I was on the chubby side in my younger days.

"He used to get the wild side out of me. He would wind me up to a certain extent, to get my anger out on the pitch.

"His man-management skills are second to none. For the size of me, I was quite a strong lad and he said I didn’t use it enough but in the latter years of my career, I used it to my advantage.

"I can’t praise him enough for what he’s done for me in my career.

"We’ve had our bad moments but we’ve always kept in contact and to this day, I still regard him as a good friend."

One of the best defenders to have played for Cugley was Adam Flanagan, who joined from Hastings and later helped Dartford climb the non-league pyramid.

He said: "We had a good team at Folkestone and I made some good friends there.

"Cugs did a great job. He’s loyal to players – if you give him lots of effort, he’ll give up his time for you.

"He was always truthful with what he said. He would tell you if you’d played well and if you’d played badly. I respected that.

"He wouldn’t sugar-coat it, just to make me feel good, he was an honest person.

"It was that split between having a laugh and being serious. When he was serious, there was no mucking about.

"He was passionate and wanted to do well and that came across."

It was Cugley’s passion that persuaded Jimmy Jackson, a class performer with Gravesend & Northfleet and Margate in non-league’s upper echelons, to take a step down to join Invicta in the summer of 2008.

"I met him at a service station and signed 10 minutes later," said Jackson. “He’s so charismatic that he sold the club to me. His personality won me over.

"I was in the latter stages of my football career, I was 32 and realised it was a club I was going to enjoy playing for. Neil’s such an infectious character that he made every moment of it fun.

"He’s seen everything in his career and certain things didn’t faze him. The first year, there were financial problems at the club and it looked at one point like we could be going out of business.

"But Neil knew how to deal with it and it was damage limitation. He still got us in a decent position that first year and the second year we ended up getting promoted. It says everything about the man. A lesser man would have crumbled but Neil can get blood out of a stone. He knows how to talk players into taking pay cuts.

"Because he makes it enjoyable, people want to play for him."

Those pay cuts meant some senior players did walk away and Folkestone were relegated from the Ryman League Premier Division in 2009-10.

But some of the young players Cugley had to accelerate into the first team were to become cornerstones of a new era at the club, including defender Liam Friend.

Six years on from that demotion, Friend is club captain with almost 500 appearances and one of Cugley’s most trusted players.

Friend said: "He understands the rigours of the part-time player. He knows they’ve got to go to work and they’ve got families, so he’s good at picking and choosing when we train.

"He also knows that when people are good at something, you use them for it.

"You don’t want to hear the same voice all the time. It’s quite good to change it up and he does that by delegating to Roland Edge and Jason Lillis.

"But the standard’s always a little bit higher when the manager’s watching.

"It’s probably quite hard for the coach to judge a player because he’s too busy doing the session but by being there, Cugs keeps the standards up and it’s a different perspective than being out on the pitch.

"There’s been a lot of times when you’re doing shooting drills and Cugs is behind the goal telling me how bad I am every time I have a shot. When one does go in the corner, I make sure he knows it was me that stuck it there."

He added: "It wouldn’t be difficult to be a football manager when everything’s going right and you’ve got millions to spend but everything done at this club is done by Cugs.

"I remember seeing him paint the lines once. Everything runs so smoothly and he’s in charge of that."

Young players continue to get their chance under Cugley, with Johan ter Horst one of his biggest success stories of recent times. In 2014 the striker was snapped up by Hull City – then a Premier League side – after less than one full season in senior football.

Ter Horst said: "He believed in me and put me in the team. He never told me how to play, he let me do my own thing and express myself.

"He told me not to worry or be intimidated by the big lads. He probably told me that I was better than all of them and gave me confidence."

Scouts were soon flocking to watch the teenager.

Ter Horst said: "Cugs spoke to me every day about it, telling me what was going on, who to believe and who not to trust.

"He was good in that respect. It was good having someone who knew what it was all about because we were new to it, agents ringing up and things like that."

Ter Horst signed a three-year deal at Hull and Cugley was left with replacing his prize asset.

He turned to Ian Draycott, who had won successive promotions with Maidstone and Leatherhead, and it proved to be an inspired signing. In less than two seasons at Folkestone, Draycott has scored 81 goals in 108 appearances.

He said: "Other clubs wanted to play me in different positions but he gives me the freedom to go and play in my best position. That’s one of the reasons I signed in the first place.

"He’s been a tremendous help to me and he’s a good man off the pitch, too.

"You see him on the touchline shouting and screaming at the players but once he’s said his piece, he holds no grudges.

"You can go up to the bar, have a drink with him and it’s all forgotten. That’s a great quality to have."

Motivating players after 19 years in the job would be a challenge for some – but not Cugley.

"He’s known to have a bit of a temper but he’s got the right balance," said Josh Vincent, another member of the 2009-10 promotion-winning squad to have stayed with the club.

"We know that if we’ve disappointed ourselves, we’ve disappointed Cugs. Over the last eight or nine years, I’ve seen him go spare on a few people but he’s calmed down a lot lately.

"Folkestone’s a massive part of his life. He’ll be there first, turning on the floodlights and he’ll be the last one to leave.

"He doesn’t just manage the team, he literally runs Folkestone and I don’t know many managers that do that."

One of a kind and now 1,000 not out. Neil Cugley’s amazing story goes on.