​FOLKESTONE Invicta boosted their chances of the Ryman One South championship when boss Neil Cugley snapped up Brendon Cass - a striker he has admired for several years and has attempted to sign several times during the player's spells around the county - notably Tonbridge Angels and Dartford.

Cugley was again raving about Cass after he scored for Chatham in Invicta's 2-1 win at Maidstone Road two weeks ago.

Cass is expected to go straight into Folkestone's side tomorrow away to Metropolitan Police at Imber Court - ironically in place of another ex-Chatham man, Simon Austin who starts a three-game ban after his red card at Sittingbourne.

Cash-strapped Invicta entered into a Creditors' Voluntary Agreement at the start of last month in a bid to rid themselves of a backlog of debt - primarily to the Taxman - built up through poor financial management over many years.

The manager had said recently: "Any other club sitting top of the table and with a good chance of promotion would be out looking to sign players to strengthen their squad at this time of the season - but we simply cannot afford to do that.

"I'd love to bring in a striker, an attacking midfielder and possibly one more defender as cover."

His hands were then tied, but the club recently came to an agreement with Jimmy Dryden to end the unlucky injury-hit record goalscorer's contract and that freed up some of the wage budget to sign Cass.

Other names including ex-Invicta favourite Allan Tait and others much wider of the mark have been touted on the club's website in the last couple of days.

But it has now been confirmed that Cass is the man that Cugley hopes can provide the goals that should ensure a play-off place, and could even see Folkestone take the title and with it outright promotion - despite their 10 point deduction by the league for taking out the CVA.

Meanwhile chairman Lynn Woods has outlined the club's feelings about the £7Million development plans for neighbours Folkestone Cricket Club and the Folkestone Optimist Hockey Club with a lengthy article appearing on the club's own website (www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk) earlier this week.

The scheme is backed by the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust whose spokesmen insist that its patron does not have a down on football and that the Trust has already supported several local projects involving the beautiful game around the Shepway district.

Trust representative Trevor Minter is understood to have agreed to meet the Invicta chairman in the near future and though his organisation say they are precluded from supporting 'professional' clubs, may be able to work out a way to appease local football fans - possibly by help for Invicta's highly successful youth section which has produced more than half of the current, table-topping first team squad.

* Tomorrow's tough test against an experienced Police side currently on an unbeaten nine game run and themselves looking for their customary place in the promotion play-offs is Invicta's seventh away game on the bounce, having already won four of the six played so far.

Following that they will be at home to Eastbourne Town on Tuesday - Folkestone's first home game for several weeks after three successive postponements - first for ice, then for snow and last week for a waterlogged pitch.

Anyone know tomorrow's forecast???