Dagenham & Redbridge assistant Darren Currie says finances will play a part in key players staying past January

Oliver Hawkins of Dagenham & Redbridge and Sean McGinty of Torquay United (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468

Daggers coach knows there is a lot of interest in squad, with 27 scouts watching last match

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Dagenham & Redbridge assistant manager Darren Currie admits the club face a fight on their hands to keep their best players with the January transfer window looming.

On Tuesday night at Victoria Road, 27 scouts were in attendance to watch Daggers lose 1-0 at home to Torquay United.

Among the clubs represented were Championship side Cardiff City and League Two outfit Stevenage, both have whom have rumoured to be interested in Oliver Hawkins.

Gillingham manager Justin Edinburgh was also in attendance, while Leyton Orient boss Andy Edwards was another understood to be watching on.

With a proposed takeover by the Glenn Tamplin-led consortium having fallen through, Daggers may be forced to sell with the club understood to be over budget.

And though Currie acknowledges that Daggers have always brought talented youngsters in before moving them on for a profit, he hopes that those who have attracted interest stick around as the Essex club chase promotion.

“The club has been built on bringing in rough diamonds, polishing them and moving them on,” he said.

“That’ll come down to the club whether they think January is the right time for one or two to move on.

“We hope not because we’re trying to build something here and we know, despite the last two games, we have a real opportunity to get back in the Football League this year and that’s what we’re all hoping to achieve.

“We need everyone who played against Torquay back on their game, we need everyone who is injured out the treatment room and we all need to be pulling in the same direction.

“I’m sure sooner rather than later we’ll get back to producing what we were earlier on.”

Daggers face a difficult assignment this weekend when they visit a Dover Athletic side who knocked the Essex club out of the play-off places on Tuesday night.

And having suffered two consecutive losses at home, Currie and boss John Still may have a tough task on their hand to lift morale in the Daggers camp.

But the assistant says he has a way of ensuring Daggers are back at their best in Kent on Saturday.

“We’ll have a meeting in the week and go over the last two games and we’ll try to hold on to the positives of the last two games,” added Currie.

“We are still creating chances and we have done in both games, more so against Torquay, so there are one or two small positives we can take from it.

“The gaffer is 100 per cent right, it’s about what goes on in both boxes. We’ll have a chat about that, show them some bits of positive play and then we’ll discuss the bits that need to get better, or at least get back to what we were doing very well in the first part of the season.

“We know we’ve got the ingredients, we know we’ve got the tools to do well, we’ve just come of it a little bit at the minute.

“It’s important the players remember why we were a very good team not so long ago and encourage them to get back there.”