The final month of a remarkably unconventional campaign begins in the kind of congested nature that has defined the previous seven months, with a quick-fire double header crammed into the Bank Holiday weekend.
One of the most telling take-aways from the recent Fans' Forum, held over Zoom as a sign of the times, was manager Daryl McMahon admitting that this season has been a failure on his part. Despite this, we're more than capable of finishing strongly, which would dilute the frustration somewhat but nonetheless would not distract from the fact that our ambitions have not been fulfilled. Ahead of this extended weekend, we're on an impressive run of three victories in succession, our best streak since that surreal Winter period after the American owners seized control of the club. There are shoots of recovery protruding from the soil, but it seems they've come too late to make a tangible difference to our overall fate. Zoning in on the next few games in particular, it's not an understatement to say that the upcoming three are not only winnable, but should be won. Barnet may be in reasonable form but they're bottom of the league, with an abject defensive and attacking record. Woking have lost seven of their last eight games, including five in a row. Wealdstone have a similar record, their only win from ten coming against today's opposition, a damning indictment on both of those sides. Anything less than nine points from nine would be disappointing. The Barnet game is one that all of our supporters want to win more than most. There's still animosity from a few years ago when they raided our financially-depleted resources, and they mustn't be too pleased that we returned the favour this season by pinching Elliott Johnson, Callum Reynolds, Charlee Adams and Mauro Vilhete from their play-off squad, while also signing their much-adored loanee Paul McCallum. The Hive hasn't been a particularly happy venue to visit for Dagenham supporters over the past few years. Our first trip there was during our relegation season and produced one of the worst performances I can remember. Two years later, we lost 2-1 there, and last season's fixture wasn't played because it was twice postponed, including at late notice last February with several hundred fans already in the vicinity, before the onset of the pandemic curtailed proceedings. Our luck there has to change today. We'll need every member of our squad across the next three days, especially with an injury list we won't want to add to. Fundamentally, though, this weekend is all about making it four, then five, wins in a row, as we at least aim to secure a top-half finish.
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May 2024
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