Neil Cugley may have to wait a while before making any more additions to his Folkestone Invicta squad.

The club need to raise "a five-figure sum" to pay for vital improvements at their Fullicks Stadium in order to meet the ground grading requirements for Ryman League Premier Division football.

Cugley's aim is to build a team strong enough to go up through the Division 1 South play-offs this season but Ashley Miller, who joined Invicta from local rivals Hythe this week, is likely to be the last new arrival for the forseeable future.

Cugley said: "Our aim is still to get in the play-offs although we’ve got to spend a bit of money on the ground. We’ve got to sort that out, to get it up to standard. Then, hopefully, we can look to push on, player-wise.

"The ground takes priority over everything else because it’s no good winning promotion and not having a ground (good enough) to go up. I’m not saying I haven’t got a good budget but it’s not massive. We have to keep a very tight rein on the finances.

"It needs to be done. It’s a Catch 22 situation. The CVA has been ticked off, the debt has been ticked off and now we’ve got to tick off the ground grading. Then we can really worry about what we’re doing on the pitch and generate income to help with that."

Folkestone are fourth in the table, 12 points ahead of fifth-placed Whyteleafe, although they have lost their last two games. They were beaten 3-1 by leaders Burgess Hill last Wednesday before going down 3-2 at home to Kent rivals Whitstable on Saturday.

Cugley said: "I’d be devastated if we didn’t get in the play-offs. There’s still a long way to go and I think we’ll be alright.

"There’s no major problems and we’ll get stronger in the next week or so with Micheal Everitt fully fit, Ashley Miller coming in and Liam Friend coming back (from a metatarsal injury).

"Friendy’s a big miss and sometimes people underestimate him because he’s been with us for such a long time. He just gets on with his job, as does Frankie Chappell. I realise how big a player he is for us but I don’t think other people do.

"No disrespect (to the people who played there) but several goals have been scored down our left-hand side while he’s been out – and that’s no coincidence."

Cugley's side are away to promotion rivals Merstham on Saturday.

Pick up the Folkestone & Hythe Express on Wednesday for more Invicta news.