IT’S DAGGER TIME FOR NEW GAFFER!
Still’s replacement set for this week
DAGENHAM AND REDBRIDGE expect to appoint their new manager in the next 48 hours.
Popular boss John Still left the club last month as part of a cost-cutting exercise, which has seen a number of high-profile departures at the club since director Glyn Hopkin resigned in February.
Interviews have taken place across the weekend for the vacant position, with former Braintree boss Hakan Hayrettin and ex-Gillingham, Hull and Brighton manager Peter Taylor believed to be in the running.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of applications, we had over 85,” managing director Steve Thompson told The NLP. “Forty of them were credible and you could have made a case for any of them.
“We whittled them down to 25 last weekend into ‘real possibles’ and a reserve league. Myself and three directors sat down on Tuesday night and went through all of them and got it down to about seven.
“I’m confident that we’ll be able to appoint a very, very good manager on Monday evening or Tuesday morning, at the latest.”
The club is rebuilding on and off the pitch following Hopkin’s departure, who led a consortium which purchased 74 per cent of the club in January last year, but stopped the cash flow in December before stepping down.
This led to talented players Sam Ling, Morgan Ferrier, Corey Whitely and Scott Doe leaving mid-season as the Daggers fell away from the play-offs.
Still, the club’s highest earner, then went through the exit door after the season’s end and has since landed the Barnet job, while his assistant managers Darren Currie and Junior Lewis both left Dagenham this week.
The club has set up a fundraising campaign with a target of £150,000 and already £38,000 has been raised by fans and the wider football community.
Dagenham will be able to present a budget at the National League’s AGM next Saturday, but the money donated will come as a significant boost to the National League side over the next year as they rejig their financial position.
Thompson added: “We haven’t been able to find a buyer, so we’re reorganising the club and the finances.
“We have explained the situation to the supporters; we had a big open meeting where over 250 people attended two weeks ago.
“Our supporters have been absolutely fantastic, there’s only so much we can ask from them.
“A number of players have either gone or will be going. We’re cutting our cloth. A number of our sponsors have been very supportive.
“It’s going to be a struggle, but it’s a struggle at a lot of football teams. We’ve been there before; we’re going back to how we were before we were promoted in 2007. It’s just the shock.
“Everyone has been paid on time, players, staff, and suppliers. But it’s been a difficult time.”