Sam Saunders says Wanderers’ charge for promotion from League Two reminds him of a title triumph he enjoyed during his time at Saturday’s opponents Dagenham and Redbridge.

The midfielder, who extended his original one month loan deal from Brentford until the end of the season on Monday, helped the Daggers win the Conference in 2007.

The 31-year-old scored against Luton on Tuesday night to keep Blues in the automatic promotion spots, and says there are similarities between Gareth Ainsworth’s team and the one he was a part of during his time in east London.

“I was saying on Sky after the game (on Tuesday) when they said about our small squad and small budget that it just reminded me of when I won the league with Dagenham,” he said.

“Very, very similar small squad, the boys get together, work hard for each other and you saw in the second half that we dug in there and got the result. It reminds me a lot of what we did at Dagenham.”

Saunders had plied his trade in non-league before being picked up by the Daggers in 2005, where he made 135 appearances, scoring 20 goals, before leaving to join the Bees in 2009.

Wayne Burnett has led the Londoners on a mini revival in recent weeks, winning four out of their last five matches to climb up to 15th in the table.

“It will be nice to see my statue outside the stadium,” joked Saunders.

“It will be nice to go back there. I’ve been back there a couple of times and I’ve never won there since I’ve gone back so it would be nice to change that this weekend.”

He added: “It’s going to be tough. Dagenham have done alright and they keep surprising year after year with their small squad and their small budget.

“I’ve always had a little soft spot for Dagenham because they gave me my Football League opportunity. It will be good to go back there and see a few old faces, but I’ll be looking for the three points.”

While Saturday’s opponents have little to play for, Wanderers are pushing hard to earn promotion to League One and keeping hold of both Saunders and Nico Yennaris showed their intent.

The Bees are able to recall the pair with 24 hours notice, but Saunders is hoping to see the job through and lead Blues to what would be the third promotion of his career.

He said: “There were one or two opportunities to go to clubs who were fighting relegation, but I felt it would be better for myself to play for a team with the camaraderie [of Wycombe].

“I knew a few of the boys before I got here and they all waxed lyrical about how good the club was and I just wanted to be a part of that.

“They’ve welcomed me and Nico in with open arms and hopefully we’re doing the business for them. Long may it continue because we want to get this club promoted.”

In his six starts as a Wycombe player the midfielder has clearly made his mark on manager Ainsworth, who said Saunders’ experience will be a valuable asset in their run-in.

He said: “It was a massive boost for Wycombe Wanderers to attract players like that. We’ve got this growing reputation of looking after players and being able to attract good players.

“I can’t thank Brentford enough for letting them stay with us until the end of the season because they’re going to be two big players in our promotion push.”