Roland Edge believes the pressure is off Folkestone in their push to earn a play-off position.

A 2-1 loss to Lewes on Saturday saw Invicta slip back towards the middle of the Isthmian Premier pack.

Any hopes 11th-placed Folkestone have of a top-five finish are slim at best, with games running out.

But joint-boss Edge said: “We have got three or four teams fighting for that fifth spot in a better position than us now.

“But for us, the pressure of chasing it has now gone. You never know.

“Until it’s numerically impossible, we will try getting it.

“When you get in a changing room, you get a feel of how the boys are and, after Saturday’s game, we could see they were not happy.

“We will go to the very end and let’s see what happens.”

Folkestone visit strugglers Bowers & Pitsea this Saturday.

“They will be fighting for their lives because no one wants to go out of the league,” Edge said.

“It’s so hard to get into the league - look at Ramsgate and Chatham, battling to get into it.

“We will be going there for maximum points and we need that.”

Scott Heard had an eventful game against Lewes.

The midfielder cancelled out Deon Moore’s first-half opener - set up by ex-Invicta striker Joe Taylor - at Cheriton Road, only to be controversially sent off in the 84th minute for a second bookable offence.

Moore then struck again at the death to earn Lewes the points in front of a crowd of 863.

Edge reflected: “There was a lot on it, to be honest.

“It was a close game. They like to keep the ball, which we knew, and - to an extent - the boys at the back did pretty well.

"But Joe only needs a second and he crossed for the first goal.

“I think a draw would have been fair. I do feel the referee lost control a little. He will say he didn’t, but that’s my opinion.

“Then, at 1-1, we tried to keep our discipline against a team that kept the ball very well and they got the second and the win.”

On the foul which saw Heard collect his second caution, Edge said: “It was a foul, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t a bad foul.

“Nine times out of 10, they say ‘It’s your last one’. But I felt he [the referee] got flustered before that.

“I thought that because he got the red card out first. If you’re controlled, you know it goes yellow first and then the red.”

It means Heard will now miss their trip to Bowers but Edge believes Folkestone’s squad is strong enough to cope in his absence.

“It’s quite a blow,” said Edge.

“Scott’s form has been getting better and better recently. But the rules are the rules.

“It’s only for one game and we have players on the bench that can do a good job.

“Draycs [Ian Draycott] will probably come in or maybe Jordan Ababio if we change a few things around.

"We still think we could get a result and that’s what we want to push for.”

Young striker Lenny Atherton scored his first Deal goal in their 2-2 Southern Counties East Premier Division draw at Glebe as part of a dual-registration agreement between the sides.

Edge, in charge alongside Micheal Everitt, said: “We sent him out to Deal, confident that it’s a good club.

“Myself and Mev were happy for two reasons.

"Firstly, he’s playing and doing well but, also, he’s really taken the bull by the horns at that level so we’re really buzzing for him.”

Folkestone under-19s lost their Kent Intermediate Cup Semi-Final 1-0 to Rusthall Reserves last Wednesday.