Pools head coach expecting tough test from "aggressive, direct" Dagenham and Redbridge

Pools are bidding to win for a fourth game in a row following an improved run of results that's seen them climb back into the top half of the National League table and close the gap between themselves and the play-off places to just six points. To stand any chance of gatecrashing the top seven, Limbrick's side will likely need to take maximum points from their remaining five matches and hope other results go in their favour.

Dagenham are embroiled in an altogether different type of battle at the other end of the table. Despite an encouraging start to the season, the Daggers find themselves three points adrift of safety following a miserable run of just two wins in their last 18 matches. While their league position suggests Pools can afford to feel confident on the long journey down to Victoria Road, Lewis Young's side are scrapping for their lives and will be determined to keep themselves in with a fighting chance after results went against them in midweek; while the Daggers have only won three games all year, fifth bottom Boston have won nine of their last 16 matches.

The London club have shown one or two signs of improvement of late, ending a run of 14 games without a win with a hard-fought victory over Halifax before edging past relegation rivals Maidenhead at the end of last month. However, a narrow defeat to Gateshead on Saturday left the Daggers staring down the barrel of relegation.

Even so, Pools will certainly not take their task lightly. Dagenham won the reverse fixture 1-0 and have a number of talented players in their ranks, not least former Pools frontman Josh Umerah, who scored the winner in the reverse and has seven goals in 32 games this season. Experienced attacker Josh Rees has scored 14 times in 38 matches this term, including three in his last four, while Limbrick knows midfielder Jake Hessenthaler well from their time together at Grimsby. The Daggers recently bolstered their ranks with the loan signing of Marcus Wyllie, who joined from League Two Gillingham.

"They've had a few good results recently until the one against Gateshead, who hadn't won for a while either," Limbrick told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"We watched that game closely and they still created a few good chances and scored a good goal from a cross and a finish off the left.

"They're clearly fighting for their lives and staying in that battle, grinding out a few results in a 3-5-2. There are some good players in that team, you've got Jake Hessenthaler in there who's got good Football League experience; he was at Grimsby, so I know him well. Josh Rees has played at the level as well and been doing well. Umerah, who was here, can be a handful on his day. Wyllie as well, who's gone from non-league, into the Football League and come back again.

"I think there are players there that can hurt you; they're very aggressive, very direct and they'll get long throws into the box whenever they can. We'll have to deal with that, we'll have to tidy up on our set-plays.

"It's going to be tough at their place. I think you can look at it two ways - sometimes, it can be a really tense, nervous game from their point of view or it could be really aggressive, on the front foot and free-flowing. We aren't sure which one it's going to be, we'll be prepared for both. We want to go and win the game and do our thing that we have been doing and we'll be trying to do that."

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