Leyton Orient defender Sean Clohessy is keen for his side to maintain the winning mentality ahead of tomorrow’s JPT first round tie at Luton. Orient who continued their 100% start to League 2 with a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers on Saturday thanks to goals from Lloyd James and Jay Simpson. Clohessy who took the armband in the second half spoke to leytonorient.com after the win stating “obviously we just want to keep winning, keeping that winning mentality”.

Clohessy who joined in the summer from Colchester has settled in well in East London along with the other new faces. Manager Ian Hendon has named the same starting 11 in all 5 league matches so far but Clohessy knows the importance of the squad “it is a squad game, we are not going to have the team that played today every game of the season, there are going to be injuries, suspension. It is all about making sure we are fresh and when we need a rest we get it”.

Hendon did make changes in the Carling Cup tie at MK Dons and were unlucky to lose the game but Clohessy revealed to leytonorient.com that “we were upset we didn’t win at MK, we should have won the game but in hindsight, it could be good we are out of that competition as we get some extra rest”. It is expected that Hendon will give some of the fringe players some game time at Luton with the likes of Freddy Moncur, Ollie Palmer, Scott Kashket looking to start. Although these players are young, Clohessy has faith in them “who ever comes in knows what they have to do, they train with us and everyone has trust in each other”.

Hendon stated to leytonorient.com that “it is enjoyable being at the top, it is better to be there than anywhere else that’s for sure”. Hendon who explained that the game against Bristol Rovers “was the biggest test, we said all week it was going to be a tough game”. Hendon’s side took the lead through Lloyd James and doubled their lead through Jay Simpson who Hendon was full of praise for post match, “He did great second half, everyone defended well, Jay looked like he was playing right back for a spell and made some crucial challenges but it was a good team performance”.

Clohessy added to Hendon praise of Simpson but explained the importance for the whole team “obviously the whole team has to defend, he tracked back and did his job. People look at him as a striker but he is part of the team and we defend from the front so only doing his job, he took his goal brilliantly too”.

Luton have had a stuttering start to their League 2 campaign and suffered another late defeat at the hands of Portsmouth on Saturday. Manager John Still stated to lutontown.com  that he has “seen flashes in recent weeks but the team is getting better, we will keep improving, I am disappointed for the players today, they played very well and will keep trying to play well”.

Luton who have only picked up 1 win in 7 games this season have failed to live up to pre season expectations but will be looking to turn it round in the Cup. The Hatters only win of the season came in a 3-1 win over Bristol City in the first round of the Carling Cup but another late goal conceded costed them at the weekend.

Defender Stephen O’Donnell saw his side concede a late goal for the third consecutive league match on Saturday and stated to lutontown.com that “disappointed would be an understatement, it has happened 3 times now, it is not good enough collectively and individually, we keep getting punished for these lapses in concentration”. The Hatters would in fact sit in mid-table with 4 more points and O’Donnell knows that “losing a game is not good enough, hopefully come Tuesday we will be up for it again and being in the cup gives us a bit of a break”.

• Luton face tough trips to Cambridge and Notts County in their next 2 league matches

Luton are not set to make wholesale changes ahead of tomorrow’s clash with the O’s with Still revealing to lutontown.com that “I am not far away from everything now, players are getting a bit of time to play so pretty comfortable about that. You do work in the week but the matches matter, I look forward to Tuesday and Saturday but also look forward to the free weeks to get back to the training ground”. With Luton’s progression in the Carling Cup, they have played Tuesday and Saturday from the start of the season meaning that Still “would like a bit more time on the training pitch”.

Team News

Luton’s only absentees are set to be Mark O’Brien who pulled his groin on Saturday while Nathan Doyle is still struggling with an injury. O’Donnell is hoping that a win on Tuesday is a booster for his side but stated “it has not been good as a team and squad, there are lots of new faces but no excuses we need to keep improving”.

Orient will be without Alex Ciask who is away on International Duty with Austraila while Mathieu Baudry remains the only doubt but Hendon revealed that he said to miss the trip to Kenilworth Road. Hendon could hand a debut to on loan defender Joe Maguire who joined from Liverpool last week but revealed to leytonorient.com that “we can’t rest players, we have to play a number of players that played today but a number have knocks”.

Head to Head – Luton 28, Draw 13, Leyton Orient 16

Last Meeting – 16/02/2008 – Luton Town 0-1 Leyton Orient

• Orient have won the last 2 meetings between the sides
• Prior to those wins, Orient had failed to win in the 14 meetings before only managing 2 draws

Prediction – Luton 1-1 Leyton Orient – Orient to win on penalties

Predicted O’s team: Grainger, Clohessy, Dunne, Essam, Maguire, Turgott, Moore, Moncur, Pritchard, Kashket, Palmer