Dagenham 3 Harriers 0 - Mat Kendrick reports from Victoria Road

THE Daggers might have cut Kidderminster wide open, but it will be Mark Yates who rips through the heart of the Harriers dressing room over the next few days.

Yates gave his strongest hint yet that wholesale changes lie ahead with a scathing assessment of his team's latest dismal defeat.

The suggestion was that only half a dozen or so of the current first team squad will survive the close-season cull as the boss attempts to really stamp his mark on Aggborough next season.

He simply will not tolerate the type of first-half no-show that gave their long-suffering travelling army of supporters their final afternoon of frustration on the road.

The limp opening 45 minutes were in stark contrast to the boss's pre-match warm up which pointed to a genuine camaraderie in the camp.

But the smiles and the banter which accompanied the on-pitch preparations were quickly replaced by frowns and accusing finger-pointing when the action got under way.

The rock hard playing surface hardly helped Harriers settle into their stride and Daggers skipper Tim Coles showed how hazardous the pitch was when he hobbled off early on after twisting his ankle in a divot.

But as Yates was quick to point out at the final whistle the concrete conditions were the same for both teams and after a dour opening spell, John Still's midtable men coped comfortably enough.

Kidderminster strike pair Gareth Sheldon and Luke Reynolds were completely anonymous before the break, starved of service as Dagenham pinned the visitors inside their own half.

In the centre of the park Jake Sedgemore, Russ Penn and Terry Fleming were unable to win enough of the ball to get Harriers going and at the back Simon Rea and Daryl Burgess formed a soft centre with returning wingbacks Johnny Mullins and Michael Blackwood also suffering off-days.

The East Londoners fired a couple of warning shots at Dan Lewis's goal but it was not until an 11-minute period before half-time that their dominance paid off with three goals.

Sam Saunders opened the scoring on 34 minutes when he was left free on hte right hand side of the six-yard box to fire in an angled strike which defelcted in off Burgess.

Things went from bad to worse for Harriers on the stroke of half-time when Craig Mackail-Smith tucked away two carbon copy tap-ins after first Paul Benson and then Chris Moore raided down opposite flanks.

Kidderminster did show some signs of life after the break with Sheldon drawing a smart save from Dagenham number one Tony Roberts after bursting onto a long ball.

The introduction of forwards Jon Newby and Lee Thompson in place of ineffective defender Rea and below-par midfielder Sedgemore did add a greater urgency to the proceedings but still a consolation goal eluded Harriers.

Blackwood came close when he whipped a free kick around the wall and just over the bar as Dagenham were content to sit back and defend their unassailable three-goal lead.

Harriers were gifted a great chance to claw back some pride when they were awarded a spot kick midway through the second-half.

But Newby's penalty miss - all too easily pushed onto the post by Roberts after Saunders fouled Blackwood on 66 minutes - compounded Kidderminster's misery.

On Saturday, Dagenham allowed a club competition winner to `manage' the team and sit alongside boss Still in the dugout for the afternoon.

And Harriers would surely have no shortage of takers for the chance to be a fly-on-the-wall of Yates's office when he reaches decision day over his players' futures next week.