Crawley manager John Hollins has dismissed speculation linking him to the vacant manager's position at Cambridge United.

Hollins is one of the names believed to be on the shortlist at the Abbey Stadium.

Cambridge sacked boss Rob Newman at the beginning of the month after Hollins, after Reds lost at Dagenham and Redbridge last night, said: "I am already employed and have a job to do. There is always talk of managers going here and there, it's speculation."

Hollins admits he still has plenty of work to do with Crawley after seeing them lose their first away game of the season at Victoria Road.

The Daggers scored in either half, before loan Reading striker, Scott Rendell, set up a frantic finish with a late goal five minutes after coming on.

Hollins said: "We did not get hold of the ball enough to dictate the play and we have to think of a few things to improve."

The Daggers went into the game on the back of one of their best ever starts to a season, having lost one of their opening seven matches.

They wasted no time in stamping their superiority on the game as they deservedly took the lead after seven minutes.

Lively forward Craig Mackail-Smith, one of the shorter players on the pitch, beat Dave Woozley to flick a long punt into the path of his strike partner Paul Benson.

The frontman outmuscled Ben Judge,leaving the Reds defender sprawled on the turf, and calmly found the bottom corner.

The home side could have gone further ahead a minute later following some sloppy defending.

Reds left Mackail-Smith all alone at the back post from a Stan Saunders cross but hewas unable to make a clean connection on his header and Scott Hiley cleared.

Crawley gradually gained the upperhand as the first half went on and came within the width of the woodwork of restoring parity.

Jake Edwards powered a header against Nightingale brace gives Rocks victorythe post from Danny Brown's cross after Daggers keeper Ben Roberts made a mess of a deep centre by Tony Scully.

The rebound fell kindly for Ben Strevens, whose low powerfuldrilled effort was cleared off the line by Jake Leberl.

Michael Bostwick then hada rising volley tipped over by Roberts as Hollins' side pushed forward.

But worryingly Reds always looked vulnerable on the counter attack and Dagenham almost made them pay eight minutes before half-time when a low shot from Dave Rainford was parried wide at full stretch by Ben Hamer.

Reds remained the team with the momentum after the break and were again denied an equaliser by the frame of the goal.

Strevens met a corner by Scully with a powerful header which skimmed off the top of the crossbar.

The Crawley striker was left cursing his luck again moments later after his volley from another Scully corner was blocked on the line by Sam Sloma. The double disappointment was compounded on 67 minutes when Benson scored a lucky second.

He did not know much about it as a volley by Sloma, following a tame attempt to punch clear a corner by Hamer, bounced off his shin and into the net.

Substitute Rendell gave Crawley a glimmer of hope three minutes from time when he stooped to nod home his first goal for the club.

Strevens went close to scoring in injury time when he failed to get a touch on a driven cross by Scully.

  • Dag & Red: Roberts, Foster, Uddin, Leberl, Griffiths, Saunders, Rainford, Akurang, Sam Sloma, Mackail-Smith, Benson. Subs not used: Batt, Lettejallow, Weatherstone, Bruce, Hogan.

Crawley: Hamer, Hiley, Judge, Woozley, Brown (Sappleton 74), Scully, Bostwick (Mills 78), Bulman, Blackburn (Rendell 82), Edwards, Strevens. Subs not used: Tolfrey, Marshall.

Referee: Mr S Attwell (Nuneton).

Attendance: 1,138.