Bury v Dagenham and Redbridge
9:10am Friday 5th March 2010 in Bury FC By Marc Higginson
SHAKERS defender Ben Futcher has urged his team-mates to keep their foot on the gas as the race for League One steps up a gear.
Bury face the play-off chasing Daggers on Saturday hoping to consolidate their position in the top three.
And Futcher, who is a veteran of five failed play-off campaigns, is eager to press on and keep the club’s fate in its own hands.
“If you settle for third place you are asking for trouble,” said the 6ft 7ins 28-year-old, who is still coming to terms with the death of his former Lincoln, Peterbrough and Bury boss Keith Alexander.
“We don’t want to be hanging on to third place, we have to push on and catch those teams above us. In the form we are in there is no reason why we can’t do that.
“It is a tight league — it always has been — but our form is good and we have to maintain that.”
Bury have a score to settle with tomorrow’s visitors after being beaten 3-1 in east London back in December.
Alan Knill’s men gifted some sloppy goals to their hosts on that day but have have since become almost impenetrable, conceding just two goals in their last eight games.
“It was a watershed game down there — we have tightened up since,” said Futcher. “We are defending well and credit has to go to the whole team, not just the back four.
“It is going to be a tough game — Dagenham are around the play-offs as they were last season — but our home form has been good and we have to maintain that.”
Defender Paul Scott misses the game after being ruled out for a minimum of four weeks with ligament damage but Efe Sodje returns from suspension.
And Knill has revealed that inspirational skipper Stephen Dawson is having to manage a hamstring problem during a busy period.
“Yesterday was the first time has has trained with us at this stage in the week for a while,” said Knill. “Usually he will come in and do a bit with us on Friday and play on the Saturday but after the game last weekend he felt a lot better.
“We are still being cautious with it but he looked pretty good yesterday.”
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