For those looking for a Daggers edge on Sunday's huge occasion at Wembley - maybe it could be Wembley experience writes Phil Ravitz.
Seems a strange thing to say about a Dagenham side, described by their own manager at the club's press briefing on Tuesday as "only having three or four players, you could really call experienced."
But perhaps the key lies off the field. To the best of our knowledge, Rotherham manager Ronnie Moore, nor any of his coaching staff have ever played at Wembley!
Compare that to the Daggers'management, that includes a boss who was the last man to lift the FA Amateur Cup, when captaining Bishops Stortford, when they defeated one of Daggers' predecessor clubs Ilford in that 1974 Wembley final. John Still also played at 'the national stadium' as a teenager for a losing Dagenham FC team in the same competition three seasons earlier.
The same fate of being a losing Dagger at Wembley befell his number two Terry Harris, who scored what looked to be the winner - a diving header - to see the Victoria Road side ahead until very late in the 1977 FA Trophy final, when two late goals snatched the trophy away and took it up to North Yorkshire and Scarborough!
A man who has never tasted defeat at Wembley is first-team coach Wayne Burnett. He was an integral part of Grimsby Town's double Wembley-winning squad in 1997-98 and it was Wayne's 112th minute, long-rang "golden goal'' that brought the Mariners a 2-1 win in the Football League Trophy (then Autoglass Trophy) over Bournemouth.
Four weeks later he was back to help Grimsby into League 1 (now Championship) with a 1-0 success over Northampton. Wayne also turned out as a teenager twice at Wembley for England under 19s and won both times!
"I don't know whether our experiences at the 'old' Wembley will help settle our players. They were pretty nerveless in the two legs of the semi against Morecambe, but all our management have played in finals there, two of us have scored and I feel that experience might help," admits number two Terry Harris.
"There have been lots of better players than us three, who have never had a sniff of a Wembley final in their careers, so you always count yourself grateful to have played in those finals." he continued.
"The great difference nowadays is that these players will have a record of their day, thanks to video and DVD technology. When I played, all I've got left are my memories and those are pretty distant," adds boss John Still. "I shall say to the players that this could be a one-off opportunity and they will be able to watch it 100 times over after the day, so they want and need to make it a day to remember."
The Daggers management team largely discount the fact that final opponents Rotherham hold a double over Daggers this season - a 2-0 win at a frozen Don Valley Stadium in a re-arranged game in February and a scrambled 1-0 victory in a very poor game at Victoria Road - will count for much at Wembley.
"I suppose it depends which side of the fence you stand on. From Ronnie Moore's viewpoint, it could be something he feels is to his side's advantage, but from our point of view, we are much stronger than the encounter at Rotherham particularly and league form will count for very little at Wembley," says Terry Harris.
"We qualified as the seventh and last placed side, but there was only one point between all of us and you only have to see what Blackpool achieved last weekend, to see that the lowest placed side are never at a disadvantage. In fact, there is a real run of success for lowest placed sides."
Peter Gain is Daggers' only fitness worry having torn fibres in his calf and although some sources place the midfielder's chances of a Wembley appearance at 50-50, Harris is confident that the ex-Spurs and Lincoln man will take his place on the big day.
"He is a very important player for us and I've every confidence Peter will there in his customary place in the side," says the assistant manager.
"Our players are as fit as can be, our organisation is as good as it's ever been and we can't wait. Playing in League 1 is a massive incentive and it is hard to believe that a decade ago we were mid-table in the Ryman League and next season we could be playing in the same division as Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and Charlton."
"Back in those days there were 20-30 non-league clubs in the south-east similar in size and support to ourselves. But we are the only ones who have gone to establish ourselves as a Football League side and now we could even be a League 1 team. It's remarkable," says a number two who is celebrating a decade with the club.
Isle of Wight official James Linington takes charge at Wembley. It will be the second time this season he has controlled a game involving the Daggers. The first? Oh, a 1-0 home defeat by Rotherham at The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium in March. No omen there then!
