Daws updates as Iron prepare for Dagenham trip

United's interim manager Tony Daws previewed this weekend's away trip where the Iron will take on Dagenham and Redbridge.

The boss started by providing an update on the fitness of the squad, saying: “We’ve lost two or three players through injury in recent weeks, so that’s a blow. That does provide an opportunity for others to come into the team and pitch their case though, so it’s up to them to come in and take that chance.”

He went on to speak directly about Reagan Ogle, who has been out with a back problem since the Eastleigh game. He said: “Reagan’s making good progress but he’s not fit enough yet to join back in training. Fingers crossed that might be next week or the week after.”

Tony also spoke about how the feeling in the camp has been in the week gone by, following last Saturday's defeat to Maidstone United. He said: “I’ve said to the staff and the players that although we recognise the importance of every game, it’s important that we don’t overreact because we lost to Maidstone. We need to be aware, but at the same time, we don’t need to overreact or get too down about it.

“We need to pick ourselves up and go again with a positive mindset, because if we’re all negative then we’re going to get beaten in the next game as well. It’s really important that we create the right environment around the place.” 

He continued to say: “We’ve had a chat with the players and a team meeting about what we’re doing, and the lads have been really good. They’re all on board. It's all been positive and we just had to make sure that we were all pulling in the same direction, and now we can get ready for the next game.” 

The gaffer then spoke about how the weather has affected the preparations. He said: “Thursday been difficult. We were okay earlier on in the week because we got on the grass on the training pitch, but on Thursday Glanford Park and the training pitch was under a bit of water. Thanks to St Lawrence Academy we’ve been able to train on their astro turf. We’ve managed to do some work up there, and the work we were meant to do on Thursday, we will do on Friday instead.” 

On this Saturday's opposition, the boss said: “Dagenham are a good side. Any team that can go up to Solihull and turn them over on their patch are a good side. They play 3-1-4-2, they’re athletic, they’re got pace, runners from midfield, and strikers who will run down the sides of your defence to stretch the game out. Make no mistake it’ll be a tough match.” 

The interim manager finished by giving his praise to the fans making the journey down south to support the Iron. He said: “The fans were great on Saturday against Maidstone as they stuck with us. They were cheering and getting behind the team, which I really appreciated, so thank you for that.

“To the people who do travel down to Dagenham, it’s a long way to go and the weather isn’t brilliant at the moment, but thank you for travelling and please get behind us. We’re doing our best, and we’re going out to attack. We will try and keep the back door shut, and make sure we defend as well as we can, as we desperately want that clean sheet and that first away win.”

See more from Tony Daws and Marcus Carver on Iron Player.