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Improving Folkestone’s league position is the main priority, according to Micheal Everitt.
Everitt, now in charge with Roland Edge after legendary boss Neil Cugley stepped down last week, will visit Haringey this Saturday for Invicta’s first Isthmian Premier match of the new era.
Folkestone, who are 17th, have taken only 14 points from 11 league fixtures, including suffering back-to-back losses in their past two league encounters, and will now hope to kick-start their season on the road.
“We haven’t got going in the league and that’s the priority,” said Everitt, whose team beat Isthmian South East basement boys Faversham 5-0 in the Velocity Cup on Tuesday.
“While we won on Saturday [2-0 against Horsham in the FA Trophy] and we are really pleased, our focus has got to be on the league, starting with Haringey.
“The league is definitely our priority.
"We need to move up the league and start winning games of football. That’s your bread and butter.”
Everitt and Edge have been thrust into the limelight after 65-year-old Cugley’s decision to quit. Everitt hadn’t given a managerial role too much thought previously, although he was offered a job in the summer.
He revealed: “I got offered a manager’s job in the summer. I turned it down because I love working with Cugs and Edgy, and I felt they were the right people for me to work with.
“What a great manager to work with, as well, and learn under when he’s been doing it for so long. I’m sure there’s plenty I can learn from the 24 years I’ve been with him that I can take forward.
“Overall, I wouldn’t say I’ve thought about it a lot - but I did in the summer.”
Folkestone’s first match under the new-look management team saw Everitt named on the bench, albeit he was an unused substitute. He then didn't feature at all in the squad as goals from Nathan Green, Ibrahim Olutade, Ian Gayle, Ade Yusuff and Matt Newman saw them get the better of Faversham.
While the stalwart midfielder hasn’t had too much time to think about if he wants to continue playing while supporting former Gillingham and Maidstone defender Edge on the sidelines, it’s something he will consider.
“It’s a conversation we probably need to have going forward,” the 40-year-old said.
“But our focus was on Saturday and getting a positive result.
“It’s not something that’s immediate, it’s something to reflect on and probably have a think about. I’m not quite sure.”
It’s likely to be a case of evolution, rather than revolution, as Edge and Everitt look to put their own stamp on Folkestone’s squad. Everitt thinks the side have conceded the first goal in games too often this term and hopes that’s something they can rectify.
He said: “We’ve got really good players in the team. We’ve underachieved and we haven’t taken our chances at the right times. That has cost us points.
“We’ve also conceded the first goal a lot and, if you look back at our records, we’re always chasing the game then. On Saturday, we scored late on and then they were chucking people forward and we countered them quite well, scored the second and had chances to score a third.
“I don’t think there’ll be massive changes but we’ll have to wait.”
Invicta are at Lewes on Tuesday in the league.
Folkestone’s top scorer Yusuff is available after the club successfully appealed his recent sending-off at Kingstonian.
Invicta have been drawn away to Beaconsfield Town in the Second Round of the FA Trophy.
