Dagenham & Redbridge striker Paul Benson says squad has the right qualities to win promotion

Paul Benson of Dagenham & Redbridge and Michael Poke of Woking (pic: David Simpson/TGS Photo) ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468

Daggers forward has won four promotions in career and could be set for another

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Dagenham & Redbridge striker Paul Benson is no stranger to promotions, having done so on four separate occasions in his career.

Benson was part of the Daggers squad that won the Conference National in 2007 and went up through the League Two play-offs in 2010 during his first stint at Victoria Road.

He then followed that by winning League Two while with Swindon Town in 2012, before finishing at the top of the Conference National with Luton Town in 2014.

It’s fair to say, then, that the 36-year-old knows exactly what is required for a successful promotion campaign.

And now back in his second spell with the Essex club, he believes Daggers have lots of the qualities needed to achieve their goal of bouncing back to the Football League at the first attempt this season.

“(For promotion we need) hard work, we’ve got that; quality, which we’ve got; togetherness, we’re getting that,” said Benson.

“We’re still a long way away from where we want to be, but we’re getting there and with every game we seem to be improving and learning.

“As long as we can keep taking that forward, we’re going to have setbacks along they way, but it’s how we recover from them, how we stay together as a team.

“The boys are a brilliant bunch, a really good bunch who want to learn and listen, which is always helpful.

“We’re certainly heading in the right direction, four wins out of five is a fantastic start to the season.”

Benson’s second spell at Daggers will see the forward occupy a different role to that of his first stint, with Oliver Hawkins now the focal point in attack.

Instead, Benson will put his vast experience to use, helping the young and inexperienced forwards develop over the season into ones capable of frightening any National League defence.

And the evergreen attacker says he is looking forward to the challenge of helping to improve the club’s attackers, such as Hawkins, Fejiri Okenabirhie and Chris Assombalonga.

“There’s things I spot in training, little pointers I can give to people when I see something that I think they need to improve on, whether it’s position-wise or technique-wise,” he added.

“I’m always there to help and give advice, whether they listen it’s up to them, but I’m always there to offer advice, whether it’s on the pitch on Saturday and in training Monday to Friday.”