TERRY IS THE NO.1 OF NO.2s

A GOAL in an FA Trophy final for Dagenham, an Anglo-Italian Cup win with Sutton United, three tours to Asia with Middlesex Wanderers and titles with Leytonstone and Enfi eld.

- Matt Badcock

But for the last 37 years, Terry Harris has become one of football’s best at operating in the shadows behind some of Non-League’s most recognisable gaffers.

Assistant to Peter Taylor at Dartford when a back injury forced him into retirement aged 28, he’s also been No.2 to Jimmy Neighbour at St Albans, Garry Hill, John Still and Luke Garrard.

In that time, the 64-year-old has played his part in Daggers winning the Isthmian League Premier title before getting out of the Conference and, remarkably, reaching League One.

Under Still and alongside Hakan Hayrettin at Luton Town, the Hatters were also promoted into the Football League while he was with Garrard when Boreham Wood came within one game of doing the same through the playoffs.

“Our first game in League One for Dagenham was Sheffield Wednesday away,” Harris, who was also with Dagenham when they lost the 2003 play-off final to Doncaster by Golden Goal, says. “I was standing on the touchline with John Still before the game.

“There were 30,000 fans at Hillsborough. They play Hi-Ho Silver Lining right before kick-off and it was banging around the ground. I said, ‘John…Dagenham. This is little Dagenham’.

“That year we played all of them. Southampton with Lallana, Schneiderlin, Oxlade-Chamberlain. There’s been a lot of highs.”