Playing right-midfield for the Cobblers' Boxing Day opponents will be a former young player of the year at Sixfields – a winger of whom great things were once expected and a player who was part of the youth set-up when Sampson headed it up five years ago.

Enter Danny Green. He's not much different to the diminutive tyro who lit up the odd reserve-team game, with his slight frame and bleached blond 'barnet' – to use the Dagenham vernacular.

But he's a different player alright, as you might expect from a couple of years' worth of toughening up in the lower-league school of hard knocks.

Sampson, who mentored Green before the top office allowed his exit, knows all about the strengths and weaknesses of the 21-year-old, who was deemed good enough by former manager Colin Calderwood to go with him to Nottingham Forest on a six-month contract.

"Danny was in the youth team here when I was the coach and he will have to be watched," said the Cobblers boss. "He is a right-winger with some ability and I know all about him.

"They have a good balance of team spirit and good players and that is always a combination for success.

"Paul Benson is a threat up front for them and he is a goalscorer.

"They lost a couple of players to Brentford last year but they have replaced them well."

And he added: "Dagenham have progressed well since coming into the Football League. They have some good technical players, they have a good spirit, they do well at set plays and it will be a really tough game on Boxing Day."

After the disappointment of seeing the highly-winnable game at Darlington fall victim to the weather at the weekend, Sampson faces a difficult festive double-header without the boost of what could have been a handy victory tonic in the north-east.

While losing the Darlington game from the schedule has done nothing to better the club's league position, the fact that only one other game went ahead amid last week's whiteout hasn't harmed it either.

It has acted as a mini-mid-season break for Sampson, though, who may now have a couple of key men fit for the Dagenham game.

"I never set any points targets but it would be good to stay unbeaten over Christmas with a win or two in there," he said.

"We will have had a two-week break by the time Saturday comes around.

"We will still have one or two injuries but the other lads will feel fit and refreshed and that can only help."

One man who may be ready to return is Luke Guttridge, whose midfield invention and quality on the ball was sorely missed in the 1-1 draw with Port Vale a fortnight ago.