IT'S DAGGERS AT THE READY

BEN STREVENS says there’s no danger of Dagenham & Redbridge thinking they have cracked it after putting the National League on notice with a seven-goal salvo against leaders Gateshead.

- Matt Badcock

Daggers swept the high-flying Heed aside last weekend with a huge 7-1 victory that came on the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Sutton United.

Consecutive triumphs took Strevens’ side up to ninth in the early table ahead of two long away trips to Hartlepool United yesterday and Altrincham on Tuesday night.

The former Eastleigh boss says the signs have been there for a while now – and he wants his squad to believe they can make an impact this season.

“We’ve been saying to the boys we have so much belief in them,” Strevens told The NLP. “I’ve seen the work Lew and Stu (Lewis Young and Stuart Fergus), my coaches, have been doing with them every day and we’ve seen the improvement.

“We’re always really critical of ourselves but we were watching games back and saying, ‘They’re doing loads of stuff right, they’ve got to keep believing and results will come’.

“To say it to them and to not let their heads drop when they are conceding those late goals and you aren’t getting the wins you probably deserve is words.