Dagenham and Redbridge manager John Still.Pic: Dave Simpson/TGSPhoto

Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still pleased with recent run of form.

Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still believes expectations have risen around the club with their latest sets of results as he prepares his team for a trip to Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

The Victoria Road outfit have suffered just three defeats in their last 13 league games and find themselves in 16th place in League Two.

And Still insists his youthful side continue to deceive others who predicted the Daggers would struggle this season.

“To be honest, I have been delighted all season and I have felt we have played well for most of the season, though there’s been an odd game here and there,” said Still after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Torquay United.

“But it tells its own story. You come away from home to Torquay who were in the play-offs last season and you are disappointed to lose, that’s a mark of where we are.

“But we have got to push on and keep working hard and continue to get the best out of these youngsters.

“I can’t give them the one thing that they need, which is a little bit of experience and knowledge.”

Striker Dwight Gayle has proved a hit already since making the loan move to Peterborough and he opened his account for the Posh in the 4-1 defeat at home to Blackpool on Saturday.

And Still believes it is games like Torquay where his absence from the Daggers has, and will, prove crucial.

“He’s obviously a miss, in tight games like today was where he can come up with a goal,” he added.

“He has got tremendously quick feet and Dwight’s very clever which people don’t realise.

“He might not be a miss in a 3-0 game, but he will be a miss in a 1-0 or a 2-1 game.”

Jake Reed is the player that has filled the void since Gayle’s absence and though he had an off day against Torquay, the Daggers chief is backing the 21-year-old to deliver, starting this weekend at Bristol Rovers.

“Jake is still learning the game and he wasn’t quite on it today,” he said after the Torquay game.

“We have pushed him in since Dwight left and he is still learning and working at that job.

“He is still very young and inexperienced, so I am not too disappointed with him.”