This period was always going to be potentially important for the Daggers, not only in providing respite from playing nearly a quarter of their entire season inside the previous thirty days, but also signifying the ideal window to appoint a replacement for outgoing manager Daryl McMahon.
It would allow a new man time to conduct preliminary assessments on the squad, and begin to lay foundations for what would hopefully be a successful tenure in which we finally fulfil our play-off aspirations at long last. Not this season in all likelihood, though we only sit six points off, but certainly the next. The board have clearly aligned with that reasoning and today announced the appointment of Ben Strevens, a man to whom the fanbase already hold strong affection following his two spells as a player which included promotion to the Football League. He will now work towards that very same goal from the dugout, building upon some promising managerial attributes nurtured at Eastleigh, where he did a largely tremendous job in defiance of the modest budget underpinning it. Reaching the play-off semi finals following a seventh place finish was a superb accomplishment and only the misfortune of cruelly losing to Salford City on penalties prevented it from being even better. They defeated Wrexham in the eliminator beforehand among many other eye-catching results that season, notably two draws against eventual champions Leyton Orient and a win at Salford. That he lost influential quartet Rob Atkinson, Joe Tomlinson, Josh Hare and Paul McCallum - the latter two of whom are ironically contracted to his new club (albeit the latter is loaned out with a view to a permanent departure in the summer) - to upwards moves throughout his reign undermined their chances of replicating that accomplishment but nonetheless reflects well on Strevens' ability to nurture players into reaching their optimum standards. Certainly there are many within our dressing room not operating anywhere near the levels they can but, under Strevens' reported man management skills as well as technical acumen, have a platform to potentially change that for the better. The aforementioned Hare can attest, having earned a move to League One from an environment that is hopefully replicated here. Of course, there is no guarantee that Strevens will have the above-mentioned effect, and that his predecessor McMahon arrived to ultimately unwarranted positivity necessitates a certain degree of hesitant caution this time around. He also made the National League top seven at his previous club it must be remembered, albeit on a significantly larger budget than Strevens with Eastleigh. There is some risk in giving out the job based on a solitary managerial sample, but he otherwise ticks several boxes thus was the most logical option from those available. Nobody can say we have not exorcised diligence throughout the entire process. There is obviously an element of 'wait and see'. A contingent of the fanbase desired a change in direction from the usual familiar face, however Strevens has decent credentials which would have made him a feasible option even if he had not played for the club. That additional factor only supplements what he can offer, and there is much to be said about a man who already has an existing relationship of mutual adulation with the fanbase. Admittedly it would be more painful if things do not go well, but likewise the opposite, which we have to believe will manifest. Either way, there is an initial feelgood factor about having a club hero at the helm, and one can only hope that amplifies. It won't redeem underachievement, but certainly helps having a manager you can strongly identify with, especially having been part of such a successful side under John Still whose methodology rubbing off can only be a good thing too. The man knows what the club is about and the expectations, so will have a powerful drive to emulate what was achieved here as a player. Forever be hailed as one of us for that, now as supporters let's give him everything in the knowledge it will be reciprocated the other way. Ben Strevens' Red & Blue Army
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January 2024
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