Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still looking forward to facing good friend and Braintree Town manager Hakan Hayrettin

Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still (pic: George Phillipou/TGS Photo) ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468

Daggers boss had Iron chief as a coach during spell at Luton Town

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Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still is set to come up against a familiar face on Monday as he takes his squad to Braintree Town in the National League.

The Iron are managed by Hakan Hayrettin, who was appointed following the sacking of Jamie Day in September.

Hayrettin previously worked under Still during his time in charge of Luton Town, and the current Daggers boss revealed he remains in regularly contact with his good friend, despite being in charge of a divisional rival.

“I speak regularly with Hakan and local derbies are always good games to play around the festive period,” said Still.

“I look forward to it, like I do all the games, but I look forward to derbies especially because we’re so close to each other.”

Still will soon be celebrating a year back in charge of Daggers, having officially returned for a third stint at his beloved club on January 1.

Though he was unable to prevent Daggers from being relegated to the National League, the 66-year-old has done well to get his troops among the promotion chasers.

And Still admits the club’s performance in the league so far has made up for the disappointment of relegation last season, but knows they cannot rest on their laurels with an important second half to come.

“I’m not happy we were relegated, but I’m happy we’ve responded in the league to be in that top group,” he added.

“We need to push on in the second half of the season, but if I look at this season, it’s gone as well as I could have hoped for.

“Up until quite recently, we were very young and very naïve, but we were able to find a way to keep going.

“We need to keep working on what we’re working out, but we need a change or two and hopefully those coming back can give us that change.”

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