DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE striker Gavin Tomlin says there is no need to panic after his team’s shaky start to the season.

The Daggers are rock bottom of League One, having collected just four points from their opening five games.

On Saturday they were put to the sword by Bournemouth at The Fitness First Stadium, with goals from Jason Pearce, Josh McQuoid and Rhoys Wiggins.

But Tomlin insists it’s too early in the season for the team and the fans to be consumed by fear.

“After the Bournemouth game the manager was still very upbeat,” said the former Yeovil Town forward.

“He recognised that the goals came from individual errors and they can be eradicated.

“He remained positive. It’s early days and there’s no reason why we should be getting too negative.

“It’s difficult to pick up points away from home in League One – your performance has to be spot on every time. Obviously, everyone was disappointed because we lost, but we almost held them until half-time so there were plus points to take from the match.”

The game was goalless when Danny Green picked out Tomlin lurking in the box, but he could only direct his header into the stands. Had the summer signing rippled the net the outcome of the game could have been very different.

The 27-year-old conceded he should have opened his Daggers account, but insisted it would not damage his confidence and revealed one of his pre-match rituals.

“I should have scored. It was an early chance and it could have completely changed the game, but everyone misses chances and I’m not going to beat myself up about it,” said the former non-league hotshot.

“Whenever I play I think I am going to score and I know that I have to stay positive if I want to do the business. Before every game I visualise myself getting chances and scoring – it’s something I have done throughout my career.

“It has always helped me and hopefully it will help me score against Bristol Rovers on Saturday.”

Tomlin, who has not scored in three outings for the Daggers, admitted he was still finding his fitness after recovering from a groin injury and is working on forging a profitable partnership with fellow striker Josh Scott.

“I’m not quite 100 per cent yet, I need three or four games to get my sharpness back,” he said. “Me and Josh haven’t had much game time together, it takes time to build an understanding. We’ve done okay, but there’s a long way to go.”

Daggers welcome the Pirates to Victoria Road this weekend knowing a win could take them as high as 13th in the table. Tomlin stressed the importance of maintaining their unbeaten home record.

“Home form is going to be crucial this season. We’ve played well at home so far this season and we need to bounce back from the loss at Bournemouth,” he said.