Neil Cugley admits Folkestone have come off the boil in the race for the title after their derby defeat at Hythe and claims Invicta need to sharpen up to avoid being reeled in by the chasing pack.

Invicta’s 12-point lead at the top of Ryman League, Division 1 South was cut to nine before Sunday’s game had even kicked-off due to Worthing’s 5-0 win against Peacehaven and although his side remain red-hot favourites, Cugley insists Ryman League, Premier Division football is “a long way away at the moment.”

He said: “We’ haven’t played badly but we haven’t played that well either recently. We didn’t deserve anything on Sunday, they dominated us really, which was disappointing.

“There is a long way to go yet. We have got to sharpen up. Be a bit more lethal. I didn’t think that was a Folkestone performance we saw the other day."

He added: "I have definitely not crowned myself in any way. I’m not like that. Until I have literally worked out nobody can mathematically catch us, that’s the only time I’ll be smiling.

“The Hythe game shows, there is still a long way to go.”

Cugley couldn’t hide his frustration with some of his big name players who were peripheral figures in the Reachfields gloom on Sunday.

He said: “We have a few players who want to play when they want to play, they have to show me they want to do it week in, week out.

“They are young enough to learn and hopefully will learn from that. People like Scott Heard and Ashley Miller are good players but they have to show they want to do it every week.

“It’s a hard slog in this league and you have got to contend with something every week – welcome to non-league, it will be the wind, then the rain, then the bumpy pitches.

“I’m not having too much of a go at them, they are two good lads and are exciting players but (at Hythe) they both went missing a bit.

“I thought on a day like that, Miller would want to put on a show (against his former club) but their lad May was far better than ours.”

Cugley added: “You want them to go and play, show me what you can do, don’t go missing. I think a few of the younger lads, too many, went missing on Sunday.

“You don’t want to not play them and you don’t want to bring them off, because they are such exciting players but they have to realise what they have got to do to keep in the game.

“Miler and Heard are so exciting, Dolan and Wright too, they have all got to learn how to do it every week.”

The promotion push continues with a home game against fifth-placed Herne Bay on Saturday (3pm) with Cugley seeking a reaction.

He said: “It’s a similar derby in principle. They have a good team spirit there and will have a go. We’ll have to be up for it.”