Neil Cugley hopes his Folkestone players are as excited about their potentially season-defining clash with Hendon on Saturday as he is.

With four games remaining and Invicta just two points ahead of the relegation zone in the Ryman League, Premier Division, Saturday’s visit of second-bottom Hendon, five points behind, to the Fullicks Stadium (3pm) looks vital.

Cugley said: “I’m not sure it’s the biggest in the club’s history but there is no doubt it’s a very, very important game.

"It’s massive in terms of us staying up. Win it and hopefully we’ll be all right but were we to lose, we’d be right back in it.

“The players know how important it is. Hopefully, they are looking forward to it as much as I am.

“Of course, you’d like to be safe by now but it always seems that this club are playing for something at this stage of the season.”

Victory would be a third straight win in front of their own fans – following the 2-0 success in another big game against Met Police on Saturday – and would take Invicta to the 52-point mark which Cugley has long targeted as the threshold for survival.

He said: “Who knows? At one point people were saying late 40s would do it, then 50, then 52, now even that might not be enough.

"I wouldn’t have chosen Kingstonian to beat Burgess Hill on Monday to bring us back within two points but the good thing is it’s in our own hands.

“If we can get a win against Hendon on Saturday, we should be safe and our goal difference is better than most of the sides around us.

“The fans turned out on Saturday and it brought the best out of the players and they responded by putting on a performance. Hopefully, they can do it again this week.”

Skipper Liam Friend is rated 50/50 after an ankle injury which has kept him out of the past four games, although Callum Davies has filled in admirably with Josh Vincent back at right-back.

Phil Starkey will play his final game in midfield before undergoing a shoulder operation which could rule him out for up to four months.