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Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley keen to bring in new striker as cover for Jerson Dos Santos

Folkestone manager Neil Cugley is looking to bring in a striker as back-up to Jerson Dos Santos who continues to be troubled by a groin problem.

Dos Santos was likely to miss training this week and while Cugley expects him to play at Corinthian Casuals on Saturday he does not want to risk losing the 28-year-old without having any cover.

Cugley has earned a reputation for picking up gems from the leagues below Isthmian Premier and he admits he’s likely to go down that route again.

Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley Picture: Paul Amos
Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley Picture: Paul Amos

The Folkestone boss explained: “I think near enough our whole team, with the exception of Callum Davies (who was at Gillingham), have come up from the lower leagues.

“It’s something we like to do because you want players who are hungry to show what they can do.

“Jerson was in that category, he was at East Grinstead (in Isthmian South East) but he’s got a bit of a niggly groin problem at the moment and at some stage we may lose him.

“I expect him to play Saturday but I don’t think he’ll train this week and we need someone who can play his role down the middle.

“We’re looking at someone, we’ll just have to see how it develops in the next few days.”

Dos Santos scored his fifth goal of the season in the 3-2 home win over Brightlingsea Regent on Saturday – a result which put Invicta joint top – but it was two-goal Kieron McCann who took the plaudits.

The goals were his first of the campaign and no one was more delighted than his manager.

Cugley said: “Kieron is such a great team player, he works really hard.

“He can play out wide or in behind in the middle but if there is one area of his game he can improve it’s his goalscoring.

“It’s something we’ve been moaning at him about so I was really pleased for him.”

Cugley felt the Brightlingsea win was the perfect response to the 1-0 midweek defeat at Hornchurch – Invicta’s first in the league since March 23.

He also thinks they are not far off the level they were a few weeks ago when they rattled off five successive victories.

“We’re definitely getting there,” he said. “At 3-1 against Brightlingsea it looked like we’d get some more goals but then they got a soft penalty.

“It gave them a bit of a lift. They had quite a few long throws in the last few minutes although they never really looked like getting an equaliser.

“We scored some great goals, particularly the third.”

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