DAGENHAM & Redbridge number two Terry Harris insists the club will field a team capable of winning League Two this season when the big kick-off finally arrives at Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.

The Daggers' assistant manager has not been deterred by the big names to have left Victoria Park this summer, and, true to form in bygone years, boss John Still has dipped into the lower leagues to pluck, what he hopes, will be a handful of gems able to withstand the rigours of the professional game.

Midfielder Danny Green and striker Josh Scott have both made considerable steps up from non-league, while they have been joined by new recruits Alex Bentley, a defender, and goalkeeper Chris Lewington.

Arsenal graduate Abu Ogogo and former Wycombe centre-half Will Antwi have also been snapped up to compensate for the loss of four vital cogs in last year's impressive, yet unsuccessful, promotion bid.

Ben Strevens, Sam Saunders and Danny Foster were all picked up by Brentford, while Dagger of the Year Magnus Okuonghae also departed.

However, Harris is full of optimism and confident of improving on last season's heroics.

“You go into each season with the hope of winning the league. If not, you want to get into the play-offs,” he told the Guardian. “We're no different to any other team. Last year was tremendous but everyone is on a level playing field, come the start of the season.

“The expectations that we have placed on ourselves is to win the league. If not, we will target the play-offs, and if we can't do that we want to finish as high as we can.”

He has been encouraged by the application the new-look squad has shown during pre-season.

“The new guys that have come in have taken to it and they'll be ready to hit the ground running on Saturday,” he added. “We're happy with the way the team is taking shape and we're looking forward to a tough game against Crewe.”

The Daggers are also in action on Tuesday night, when they make the trip to Cardiff City in the Carling Cup first round.