A highly emotional week, with the late, lamented Keith Alexander never far from people's thoughts, ends tomorrow with the visit to Victoria Road of Alexander's Macclesfield Town, the last team he managed prior to his sad and untimely death just over a fortnight ago.
In a week that has seen his funeral, at 53, at Lincoln's magnificent cathedral, conducted by the Bishop of Lincoln, at which 1,500 people, it is fitting that Macclesfield should be our next visitors.
Daggers' midfielder Peter Gain, a player under Keith Alexander for six seasons at Lincoln, represented the club at Monday's funeral.
Daggers last crossed swords with Keith when they went to the Moss Rose last October and battled back from 2-0 down with 10 men, Abu Ogogo having been sent off in the opening 10 minutes.
It naturally disappointed and vexed the Moss Rose boss to let such a lead slip, but didn't stop him entertaining his Daggers counterpart John Still royally until the club coach left, some long time after the game had finished.
Keith's long-standing assistant Gary Simpson has taken charge since the tragic events of two weeks ago and has coaxed two splendid 2-0 wins out of his heartbroken charges, a victory away at Hereford on the weekend following Keith's death and a fine home success by the same score last Saturday, over promotion challengers and north-west rivals Bury.
There have also been slender 1-0 defeats to high riding champions elect Rochdale and to Dale's fellow promotion challengers Notts County, in the past month.
John Rooney, younger brother of Manchester United and England's Wayne, has been a star of the Silkmen's line-up for the past 12 months and his form persuaded Championship Derby County to invite Rooney the younger to train with them and play in their reserves.
One of Keith Alexander's final tasks was to watch the young Rooney impress in the Rams' reserves.
Ricky Sappleton, a signing from Leicester City and a scorer for Macc when they last met Daggers, has led the way in the scoring charts with seven from 18 appearances, while the experienced, much travelled Matthew Tipton has proved something of an impact substitute. He has notched five despite only starting on eight occasions.
Tall striker Ben Wright has recently been taken on loan from Championship Peterborough to boost Macc's goal tally.
On their last visit to Dagenham, Macc were beaten 2-1 thanks to a Paul Benson double for the home club, while last season's visit to the Moss Rose produced one of the best displays of the season, when the Cheshire side were trounced by an outstanding display in which Benson again scored twice and the departed Solomon Taiwo and Sam Saunders both chipped in with fine goals.
Daggers have Peter Gain returning after a two match suspension and although, on the surface, that would seem to create a selection dilemma for manager Still, he says he knows what his starting line-up will be - but is giving nothing away ahead of the game.
Jon Nurse replaced Gain in the midfield reshuffle necessitated by the former Lincoln man's absence and scored Daggers' only goal at Sincil Bank
Staffordshire referee Tony Bates takes charge of a match involving Daggers for the first time this season, although he was appointed initially to the match away at Rotherham that was postponed because of the frozen weather in December.
Likely line-ups:
Dagenham & Redbridge: Roberts, Ogogo, Doe, Arber, McCrory; Green, Pack, Folly, Nurse; Benson, Scott.
Macclesfield Town: Brain, Brisley, Morgan, Brown, Hessey; Sinclair, Bell, Draper, Daniel; Wright, Rooney.
Referee: Tony Bates
Travel news
There are no service closures or planned engineering works along the District Line bewteen Barking and Upminster.
