We can't spend what we haven't got, says Folkestone Invicta boss Neil Cugley

FOLKESTONE INVICTA manager Neil Cugley says he is relishing the prospect of starting the new season with up to five or six new faces in his squad.

The departure of long-established centre backs Liam Friend and Frankie Chappell to Margate and Lewes respectively means he is looking for two new defenders and one more midfielder as Folkestone look to further consolidate their position in the Isthmian Premier Division.

          
Folkestone Invicta boss
Neil Cugley
Photo: Folkestone Invicta FC

But he admits that the club’s location and, of course, finances will always be a problem for the Kent side.

“We’ve only got X pounds in the wage budget, and we can’t spend what we haven’t got,” Cugley told www.folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk.

“But while we’re on a par with what some of the north London clubs in our division are paying, they have a huge advantage in terms of catchment area and players of the quality some of those have want either too much or are unwilling to travel very far to come down to the coast two or three times a week.

“But we’ve got a good club here and one of the centre halves I talking to was very impressed by our pitch and the kind of facilities we’ve got here now. You can say that by the time the season starts we should have two new defenders and a midfielder – and I’m looking forward to it.

The full-time return of club legend Micheal Everitt has taken some weight off Invicta's hunt for new players but Cugley is excited over the prospect of working with a handful or more of new players.

He said: “I’ll need to gain their respect and they’ll need to gain mine as the time goes along, but while I know that some supporters are sad to see players go – especially those who’ve been here as long as Frank and Friendy – I think they too will welcome the fact that we’ll have some faces around and fresh blood in the side.”

Already signed are striker Ade Yusuff and left-sided midfielder Kieron McCann whose arrival is offset by the departure of Sam Beale who was released by the club this week.

“We must thank Sam for what he did for us while he was here and wish him luck for the future,” said Cugley.

“But with Kieron and Nat Blanks on the left and Sam Hasler can also play that side too, we should still have a good balance which I’ve always believed is so important.”

Also on his way is attacking midfielder Miles Cornwell – who was signed from Sittingbourne a couple of months into last season and scored 10 goals in 34 appearances, of which seven began on the bench.

“I’m disappointed that Miles has decided to leave us,” revealed Cugley.

“I liked him and he did well for us as those statistics show and looked comfortable at Premier Division level.

“We’d made Miles an offer but Sittingbourne surprised me by matching that and he’s also got connections over there where his dad is Tony is assistant manager.

“Maybe the travelling didn’t quite fit in with his circumstances.

"It's slightly disappointing that - apart from Friendy - the players we have lost have gone to clubs playing at a lower level.”

It also appears that Ashley Miller may opt to leave Invicta though he has been oftered terms and Folkestone will be asking for a fee for the young striker - as they paid to Hythe Town when he moved to the club two and a half seasons ago.

Invicta have also had more requests than usual from players wanting to take part in pre-season for with around half-a-dozen expected to appear in the warm-up games on that basis.

Cugley says he is delighted by former club captain Everitt’s decision to play for his home town team on a regular basis once again in the forthcoming season.

The midfielder has twice done the club a huge favour by coming out of retirement – first helping them win the Ryman One South championship in 2015/16 and then playing the final five vital games of this last campaign when they climbed well clear of the relegation zone to finish a comfortable 16^th place in the Ryman Premier League.

And Cugley says that this time he didn’t have to twist his long-time captain and midfield general’s arm too much this time.

“I didn’t get too much chance to talk to Mev at Willo’s funeral the other week, but he told both Edgey (assistant manager Roland Edge) and Jason (coach Jason Lillis) that he’d enjoyed being part of it all once again and might be interested in coming back on a more regular basis.

“We had a good chat on Saturday and he really wants to give it a go and I’ll admit that it will fill a big gap in midfield for us.

“He came back and played well for us this last season having hardly trained at all and I believe is really looking forward to seeing what he can do with a good pre-season’s training behind him.

“Players happy to do the job that he does in midfield for us are very hard to find, even for clubs with a lot more money than we can pay.

“And we know what we get from Mev."

Everitt, 34, is already comfortably Folkestone’s record appearance maker, those five end of season matches took the popular former club captain to a massive 560 starts for the club – plus 76 substitute appearances – having first joined Folkestone while in his early teens.

An experienced full-time youth and schools coach, Everitt will also play a role in Invicta's coaching set-up this coming season as did former captain Friend who recently left to join rivals Margate alongside assistant manager Edge and Lillis. 

Visit Folkestone Invicta’s website: www.folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk