Dagenham & Redbridge boss Daryl McMahon says his players have ‘nothing to fear’ in their FA Cup replay at Gillingham next week.
Daggers had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their second-round tie at Victoria Road last weekend, after Josh Walker’s 80th-minute goal was cancelled out by Scott Kashket in stoppage time.
And they return to National League action with a home game against Torquay United on Saturday (12.30pm), before making the trip to Kent on Thursday (December 8, 7.15pm) to fight for the right to host Premier League outfit and 2021 FA Cup winners Leicester City in the third round.
“What we’ve shown is we’ve got nothing to fear. We know they’re a good team,” said McMahon ahead of Monday night’s third-round draw.
“But we will be ready when the game comes around and will look forward to it.
“I’m very, very proud of the performance, it’s another game unbeaten, another game at home unbeaten as well, and for me it was a very, very good performance.
“We have to go back into training, build on that, get ready for Torquay and get ready to go to Gillingham and keep moving forward.”
McMahon’s men were left wondering what might have been having enjoyed the better of Saturday’s contest, only to see the visitors salvage the tie with their late leveller.
But the boss wanted to focus on the positives from their performance, adding: “It’s easy to pick out the negative right at the end, or the disappointment right at the end for us, but we have to pick the positive bones out of it and move forward.
“I thought first half we didn’t take more care in there [the final third]. We got in there a lot of times and picked the wrong pass. Again, that happens, it’s a little detail of the game.
“But I thought second half we were terrific, we created numerous chances, set-pieces we were dangerous, our play was good, our intensity to play and move the ball were good.”
After seeing his side extend their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions, with only one defeat in their last 11 outings, McMahon picked out certain individuals for their efforts.
“I thought we had many good performances in the team,” he said.
“I thought Westy [Myles Weston] was outstanding again, at his age to do what he does.
“Mo [Sagaf] can play anywhere and play well to be fair to him, he’s very versatile.
“He’s got a terrific attitude to the game, he’s got a terrific engine, he’s a team player, he works hard and I thought he was excellent.
“It was great to get George [Saunders] on the pitch in a proper game as well, great to get him back, and he’ll go from strength to strength.
“I’m sure he’ll be pleased with the fans singing his name straight away as well, everyone knows what he has been through, he’s worked hard to get back.
“That’s a nice treat for him to get on the pitch. So lots of positives.”
*West Ham United were handed a trip to Premier League rivals Brentford in the FA Cup third round draw.
Ties will take place over the weekend of January 6-9.
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