Dagenham & Redbridge assistant boss Lewis Young was thrilled with the resilience his side exhibited after they opened their National League campaign with a deserved 2-1 win over Wealdstone on Saturday.

Young led the team in place of boss Ben Strevens, who was serving a one-match ban, and pointed to the hunger of the players having been pegged back midway through the second half.

“We took so much more care of what we want the first game to look like. Did it look ideal for us? No, but what I’d say about the group is how fantastic the individuals looked because they’ve shown great moments in the game to create really good chances,” said Young.

“You’ve got to give credit to Wealdstone. They came to play with a different shape than the six or seven games that we’ve watched of them in pre-season, but they came, and they did really well, and we were able to find a way to win and that’s a good feeling having been the first game of the season.”

Despite the opening day win, the Daggers have infamously struggled to build momentum during the early stages of previous campaigns.

But Young was defiant in how the club’s preparations for the new season has played a significant part in a positive start.

“Naturally, you always compare to what’s gone on before and things like that, but we’re a new group with new players in it,” he said.

“I’m standing out at the moment watching the group that came on and finished it for us and those who weren’t able to affect it and yet every single one of them could play.

“We had a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday – those players who played were fantastic, so it was a tough decision to leave them out and that’s sort of where we’re looking.

"We’ve got home games now, away games but it doesn’t matter. It’s all about what our group decide to turn up as on the day and as long as they can control the performances then the results will come.”

Wealdstone’s Sam Ashford drew the visitors level on 72 minutes after Josh Rees’ excellent opener, but player of the match Dion Pereira’s outstanding late curling strike snatched all three points for the Daggers, and Young was elated with the players’ response.

“It’s fantastic. I do a lot of reviews. I do a lot of previews, but the review of last season was one of little intricate things that went against us and that was something that came up,” he added when asked about the players desire to win the game.

“The timing of when we conceded to when we got the next goal. The players knew it from day one. We’re hoping that we’re mentally and physically prepared for all of those things that are going to go against us.

"I thought we were really dominant for that 15 or 20 minutes after half time and we probably should've been a couple more goals up and maybe that was something that was playing in the back of their minds.

"They knew they could go and create more chances, but you’ve got to give credit to Wealdstone as I thought they were really good on the day.”

Strevens will return to the touchline for the Daggers’ next fixture as they visit Rochdale on Saturday (3pm) before making a trip to Woking on Tuesday (7.45pm).