Folkestone Invicta manager Jay Saunders hails squad as one of the best he has worked with ahead of home Isthmian Premier derby with Dartford

Boss Jay Saunders has hailed Folkestone’s squad as one of the best he has worked with during his managerial career.

The leaders took another stride towards winning the Isthmian Premier title as top scorer Jake Hutchinson bagged a brace in last weekend’s 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Potters Bar.

While many had tipped Invicta for promotion, Saunders was more cautious.

Folkestone have had many challenges to deal with, too, losing defender Ollie Black and midfielder Jeremy Santos to long-term injuries before vice-captain Dean Rance broke his leg in January. But they find themselves edging ever closer to an inaugural promotion to National League South.

Asked if his assessment on the eve of this season had been kidology, Saunders joked: “No, I’m not that clever! That was just honesty.

“If you look at Saturday’s squad, we have got Joel [Odeniran] here from last year - and that’s it. We played the first two months away from home.

“Not blowing our own trumpet, I think we got recruitment right. We recruited quite well and got a good blend.

“But the boys have to go out and perform. We have worked really hard with them and they have worked really hard to take on board what we want.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries. We lost Ollie Black and we lost Santos, Ade Yusuff’s played eight games, Ike Orji has been out for the past month and a bit and Rancey broke his leg.

“We’ve lost a lot of bodies - it’s been tough - but the boys have stuck together. They’re a really good group.

“It’s one of the best dressing rooms I have had. That says a lot because I’ve had some good dressing rooms, but it’s a really good group of lads.

“We have just got to keep doing what we’re doing.

“If you look at the league - the likes of Billericay and Chatham - a