Neil Cugley has called on his Folkestone players to get back to winning ways in the Ryman League Premier Division and show they belong at that level.

After three straight defeats – and just one win in six games in all competitions – Invicta were left licking their wounds after being knocked out of the FA Cup in the third qualifying round 3-1 by lower-division hosts North Leigh on Saturday.

They will aim to bounce back on Saturday with a trip to Worthing, a ground where they won 2-1 in March, on their way to the Division 1 South title and Cugley said: “Worthing are a bit like us, they started well but have dropped off a bit recently.

“When you first go up there is a buzz and you’re flying but reality eventually kicks in and you realise it’s more difficult than maybe you thought it was.

“It should be an interesting game but we need to start putting points on the board.”
He added: “We’ve had a bit of bad luck with injuries lately but we’ve got to get on and start winning games.

“We told the players they would be given time to show they were good enough for this level.

"We’ve brought a couple in already but after the next few games we’ll probably have a proper sit down and discussion about the players and where we’re going to go.”

Cugley refused to blame Invicta’s injury crisis for Saturday’s defeat in Oxfordshire, adding: “We were not at our strongest but they were good and deserved to win.

“We could make excuses about players being out and a couple of others playing when perhaps they were not at their fittest but sometimes you just have to hold your hands up."