After a comprehensive victory at home and an eight-goal thriller that saw the points shared at Eastleigh, that double-header still fails to be the most significant news of the past two weeks at Dagenham & Redbridge. 

Last Friday’s statement from executive chairman Peter Freund was an honest admission of failure as he outlined his subsequent desire to sell the club once new investors are found. 

It came as a surprise in one sense, given just six months ago the American consortium stated they were ‘in it for the long haul’. 

However, in another sense it’s no surprise at all, with a scaling back of investment on the pitch in recent months and a growing absence of the ownership at Dagenham.

It felt as though during Daryl McMahon’s tenure the ownership went for broke in backing him with high investment but were unfortunately not met with high reward. 

The 2021/22 season that saw the Daggers fall a point short of the top seven was undoubtedly a big blow for hopes of a return of the investment and a return, as aspired, to the Football League.

As a result of the latter, it has been largely welcomed by supporters as an opportunity for the club to get back to challenging near the top of the table if the right investors are found. 

Also it must be said there remains great gratitude for all the investment in the club over the past six years, saving Dagenham & Redbridge as a club on the brink in 2018, and seeing them through the tumultuous Covid years. 

It is now a waiting game, with speculation to doubtless be rife over potential deals in the coming months, but the players’ focus must remain on finishing the season strong. Therefore, all attention for now turns to a tough test away to Barnet on Tuesday.

There were positives to take from those two performances on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day with the Daggers free scoring, at long last. However the defensive display on the road, whilst making for entertaining football, cannot be repeated if we are to get something out of Tuesday’s encounter.

Barnet sit in third having secured back-to-back victories over Southend and rediscovering their early season form, however a loss to Altrincham at the weekend will have slightly dampened spirits. 

The hosts will encounter a determined Dagenham side who can take heart from recent matches, looking to keep something of an unbeaten run going. The away support will also be crucial in helping the Daggers over the line as they make the short midweek trip to The Hive.

There is certainly no boring time to be a Dagenham fan, and just when it looked as though we’d be heading for a period of mid-table obscurity, hanging around the bottom half, not much to talk about - there is the prospect of new ownership on the horizon. 

Let’s see how this next week pans out, hopefully with another three points as things continue to look up heading into this new year.

Come On You Daggers!