Gillingham defender Will Wright is the man in the know when it comes to Saturday’s FA Cup Second Round opponents.

The Gills head to National League side Dagenham & Redbridge, a club Wright spent the past four years at, playing over 100 league games for and wearing the captain’s armband.

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Many of his former team-mates remain and the 25-year-old is looking forward to his return.

“I am looking forward to it a lot more now,” he admitted. “After Saturday’s performance [losing 2-0 against Newport] I was thinking, ‘oh God, I don’t want to go back there and put on another show like that.”

Gills ended their four-game losing run in the league with a goalless draw and a much-improved showing at Crawley on Tuesday night.

Wright knows they will be up against it on Saturday, even against a team from the division below, managed by former Ebbsfleet United boss Daryl McMahon.

“They have got firepower all over the pitch,” Wright said. “They are a free-flowing side again this year and have scored a lot of goals already.

“We will be up against (forwards) Junior Morias and Josh Walker, I would imagine, they are both sharp and both clinical finishers.

“They will be open and look to play nice stuff, that is how Daryl works, they are very attacking. When I was there we were very much ‘we will outscore you’ so hopefully Saturday will be a good game.

“I would love to go back there and score, obviously, but I just want anyone in our side to score, I don’t care, even if (goalkeeper) Jake Turner has to come up, anyone to get it into the net and hopefully kick start us scoring goals again, because it is much needed.”

Both sides know they are just one win away from round three and a potential money-spinning tie against a top side. Wright is looking forward to having a break from the league but knows any team in the National League have the quality to put a League 2 side down.

He said: “It is a chance for us where we can hopefully put on a little bit of a show and have a little bit more freedom and try and express ourselves.

“From what I have seen this season the National League is very strong, you look at the top three, Wrexham, Chesterfield and Notts County, all three of those sides would be touching the play-offs in this league, only two can come up, it is very hard to come up from that league and Dagenham are just outside the play-offs and in good form, it will be a good test for us and one we’re ready for.

“I have a lot of good pals there, still in some smaller group chats from a car school I had there and we look out for each other’s results and how we are getting on. I was there for four years, I do keep in touch with a lot of the boys and I look out for their results to see how they’re getting on.”

Including the FA Cup first round win over Maidenhead, the Daggers have won four in a row heading into the cup clash, scoring 10 in the process. The Gills have only managed 15 goals in their 27 games so far in all competitions.

The Gills hope to take some confidence into the game, however, after a better showing on Tuesday at Crawley. That came after some stinging weekend criticism of the players from the manager.

Wright said: “The gaffer wasn’t happy, we weren’t happy, he dragged us in on Sunday and it was fully deserved, we needed the reaction and, bar scoring, he got it.

“It is never nice hearing that (criticism) but we are not scoring goals and when you don’t score goals you aren’t going to win, sometimes you need to hear it. We are man enough, we have probably all heard it over our careers, nothing new, it was about time the gaffer hit home with some home truths and we have got a reaction, hopefully that is something we can build on.

“The gaffer has had a great playing career and already done amazing things as a manager, someone who has worked at a level where I myself is aspiring to be at, so he’s someone we listen to and we are never going to throw him under the bus, we are always going to work for him, that showed (at Crawley).”