Defender has had loan with Essex club from Wolverhampton Wanderers extended until end of term

Ben Goodliffe says he is delighted to be staying with Dagenham & Redbridge until the end of the season and now hopes to kick on with the Essex club.

The centre-back arrived at Victoria Road in the summer on loan from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Goodliffe’s initial loan deal was due to expire this month, but it was confirmed last week that it had been extended until the end of the campaign.

And with a few more months as a Dagger to look forward to, the 19-year-old hopes to show fans exactly what he is capable of.

“I’m delighted to stay until the end of the season and I feel like I’ve had a bit of an up-and-down journey, especially at the start of the loan with a couple of silly challenges that put me in a bad position,” said the defender.

“I feel like I’ve bounced back from that and I’m delighted to stay because I’m progressing well, so hopefully I can show that in the second half of the season.”

Goodliffe has been exposed to plenty of regular first-team football this season, becoming a fixture at the heart of defence

His centre-back partner, though, has seen plenty of change having already played alongside Will Wright, Alex Davey, Luke Pennell, Manny Onaraise and Kenny Clark this season.

But it seems playing alongside so many different partners is not something that has fazed the teenager.

“Playing alongside so many different centre-backs means you have to adapt, but one of the main things in football is your ability to adapt to different situations,” he added.

“When you get different centre-backs playing alongside you, you have to work well with each other to make sure you play well.

“Recently we’ve had Manny and Ken who have come in and done well, so to have those two alongside me in the formation we play has been good and I’m enjoying it.”

Goodliffe has made 24 starts in the league for Daggers so far this season and the young centre-back feels he has learned a lot from the loan spell.

“When I was 17 and at Boreham Wood, I played men’s football for a few games and then got signed by Wolves,” he said.

“Playing for the under-23s is a different environment to be around, so coming back to men’s football has been a good challenge for myself.”