The fans had mixed feelings. The players respected him. The owners were loyal and always full of praise. The rollercoaster of emotions that come with supporting Dagenham & Redbridge have been tied up in one man for three years. Now it’s all unravelled, let’s take stock and look at where it was going so right and ultimately where it went so wrong.
Coming in in January 2020, a side and club bogged down by the regressive attitudes of an experienced manager, these attitudes ultimately reflected in the results and league standings. The Daggers were languishing precariously above the drop zone, the task for the author of this new chapter was to see this side kick on – match the ambition and energy of the ownership off the pitch.
‘First choice’ Daryl McMahon got the gig and the 36-year old had everyone at the club excited, hopes of bringing a new lease of life and stark contrast to Peter Taylor – a progressive approach.
The first few months were very testing, not least due to the season ultimately being cut short due to COVID in 2020. However, it gave McMahon time to get his work done off the pitch, getting his squad together for the play-off push in 2020/21.
Paul McCallum was the marquee signing in the summer rebuild as the prolific goal scorer penned a three-year deal. There was a real sense of change in the air and an optimism that we’d got the right man under a supportive ownership – headed firmly in the right direction.
2020/21…
There was an underwhelming start to the campaign but McMahon and his team were given the benefit of the doubt – players taking time to gel, new playing style etc. Daryl’s 3-5-2 formation was a key part to his appeal as he got Dagenham playing on the front foot, offensive football – getting the crowd on edge.
As the table began to take shape the play-offs were some way off and questions were beginning to be asked – no time for patience in modern-day football. However the board would hear nothing of it, asserting this was a long(er) term project – a first full season at the club almost a test run.
There was a very strong end to the first campaign, 10 games unbeaten with 8 wins chucked in there, remembered for stopping ‘Hollywood FC’ Wrexham getting play-offs on the final day. It was too little, too late on that occasion as the Daggers were some 8 points off the top 7, but there was optimism heading into the summer and new season – a sign of things taking real shape.
2021/22…
As McMahon’s Daggers entered a second full season there was talk of this side as the dark horse for the title, full of potential and positivity as they looked to carry the momentum into the new campaign.
It was a shorter summer break with a late finish to the 2020/21 campaign – the impact of COVID still lingering – perfect to pick up where we left off and sure it did.
It kicked off with a comfortable 1-3 victory at title favourites Stockport (eventual champions) – the optimism and excitement justified with results on the pitch.
McMahon’s men were living up to the hype as that unbeaten run extended to six – five of them victories. The Daggers were flying high with a period at the top of the tree, but ultimately this was to be as good as it got.
After the Daggers seemed to have lost their way, the arrival of Junior Morias (arguably the best McMahon signing) rejuvenated the side but couldn’t iron out the inconsistencies which eventually marred the campaign.
There was a hopeful FA Trophy run thrown in but the Wembley hopes were dashed on penalties to York in the Quarter-Final. All focus on the league, the Daggers came very close, fully immersed in the play-off battle – that seventh place still up for grabs until the final day.
However the real moment in the campaign that scuppered our chances last season was at Solihull Moors away – the penultimate game of the season. Rivals Chesterfield had slipped up in the early kick-off and Dagenham had the opportunity to take the play-off hopes into their hands heading into the final day.
But the loudest cheers from the Daggers faithful were those before the game that day as the Chesterfield result filtered through – the mood shifting as the game in front of us played out. A golden opportunity was completely missed, condemned to a 3-1 defeat, a failure to capitalise on that earlier result was to prove very costly.
The 3-0 victory on the final day against Wrexham only added to the frustration, we knew that we were capable but only when we turned up – not at key moments and not often enough.
This led to calls from some for McMahon to go, the season epitomised in that game, just missing that something, not good enough – a nearly team. Had he taken us as far as he could?
Executive Chairman Peter Freund delivered an impassioned speech on the pitch after that game, asserting this should only give us more confidence going into next season.
The overriding thought was so long as we are progressing he remains as manager, from 12th to 8th – all signs pointed to a play-pay-off place in his third campaign.
Although the summer saw new arrivals, there were not reinforcements on the scale some had hoped, as the league only got more competitive, was it investment enough?
2022/23…
There was a weight of expectation on the shoulders of McMahon as he knew as well as anyone anything less than play-off football would be another failure he couldn’t afford.
Third time lucky is what all Daggers’ hopes were pinned on, more consistency in good performances – translating to results – and culminating in a successful campaign. However this campaign didn’t get off to the best of starts as it took four games to record a victory, even then it didn’t kickstart the season – very stop-start.
The story of inconsistency was typified in September, the craziest of months of McMahon’s tenure, plenty of entertainment though the results were very mixed to say the least!
The pick of the bunch has to be that nine-goal thriller at home to Barnet which Dagenham were on the right end of on that occasion. However, the game that felt like it could have finished Daryl was the absolute disaster away to Dorking.
That 5-1 defeat was probably one of the, if not the, worst performances of the McMahon era – tensions boiling over at full-time. There would have been no surprise or disputes if he had been relieved of his duties that day.
But in typical McMahon fashion he got a tune out of his side away to play-off rivals Chesterfield just three days later – an immediate response. This ability wore off towards the end but he had maintained it for some time – getting out of jail on several occasions.
This season saw the biggest win of his tenure recorded in the FA Cup, 0-7 away to Beckenham Town, but that cup run ended as it did two seasons prior – in Round 2. McMahon’s men were bitterly denied the opportunity to host Leicester City at Victoria Road.
There was a slight revival with four consecutive wins heading into November but there was never a run this season that offered genuine hope of play-off football.
Each time you thought there was something brewing it soon proved to be another false dawn. As we headed into 2023 it was just poor performance after poor performance, perhaps punctuated by a good result, then normal service resumed.
The departure of the one bright spark amidst the bleak overall picture, Josh Walker, on deadline day marked the beginning of the end in many ways.
From there on in, it can be described most accurately as one step forward, two steps back. We were now regressing and this was a red line, even for the loyal ownership. The defeat last Saturday to Scunthorpe saw McMahon’s precarious position appear untenable.
The performance resembled one of a manager coming towards the end of his tenure; devoid of confidence, belief and creativity. This was confirmed as he delivered another interview, these had now become a difficult watch – questioning his players’ character on an almost weekly basis.
The final game of the McMahon era was a victory, coming on Tuesday night, but that was just a papering of the cracks that everyone could recognise couldn’t be papered anymore. The foundations had been broken, lurching from game to game.
The league leaders up next, unbeaten in the league since September, the decision was made before inevitable embarrassment.
That’s McMahon’s three years summarised. One where great loyalty was shown, great hope was felt, but potential was never realised.
A nearly era, to be looked back on as what could’ve been.
Let’s see what the next occupier of the Daggers dugout can deliver!
Come On You Daggers!
Full Time Daggers 
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