Leyton Orient captain Mathieu Baudry insists his side are still in the mix at the top of League despite going the whole of September without a win. Orient suffered their first home defeat of the season to Carlisle on Tuesday night but Baudry remained upbeat on his side.

Antony Sweeney netted the winner for Carlisle in a game where Orient were the dominant side once more but failed to pick up the desired result. Speaking to leytonorient.com post match, Baudry stated “We controlled the game, it was a bit one sided really, we got a lot of chances and don’t score then we get done at the back so it is hard to take but just need to keeping playing how we are”

With Orient only picking up 3 points from the last 15 available, they have dropped to fifth in the table but Baudry knows there is no need to worry, “We are still only 3 points of the top, it is going to be a long season with ups and downs”. With Notts County arriving in E10 tomorrow, Baudry added “it is encouraging, we’ve got chances, need a bit of luck and be more ruthless and the win is going to come”.

O’s manager Ian Hendon has revealed his relief that September is out of the way, after 5 wins from 5, the former West Ham coach picked up August’s manager of the month award but since then, his side are without a win. Speaking to leytonorient.com on the eve of the County game he stated “September wasn’t a good month in terms of results but performance have been solid and could easily come away with 3 points in games we have drawn”.

A worry for Hendon, will be the defensively lapses his side seem to be having, the Carlisle game was the sixth game in a row Orient conceded the first goal. Hendon was disappointed with the manner of the Carlisle goals on Tuesday “the lads at the back switched off for the first one then the second one there was a bit of sustained pressure and it dropped to them”.

With Orient chasing the game after conceding, Baudry has urged his side to “keep it locked at the back, in both boxes we need to be more clinical”. It is no coincident to Baudry that in the games they have netted first they have won but Hendon is aware that his side need to “make sure they make the most of the chances they create”.

Notts County arrive in E10 on the back of a 1-1 draw in Dagenham on Tuesday night, their 7th point out of a possible 9. Hendon is aware of threat that County possess ahead of tomorrow “they are on a good run of late, they have a very large and strong squad and are a team that should expect to up towards the promotion shake up”.

County were relegated alongside Orient in May and with a summer of change at Meadow Lane over 20 new players were recruited by manager Ricardo Moniz. Moniz’s side sit 13th just 2 points outside of the play offs, highlighting the tightness of the division. Moniz was very critical after his side dropped 2 points in his eyes on Tuesday evening at Dagenham, “It’s a disgrace, we have regular mistakes in discipline, there is no consistency, we don’t deserve the win”.

County missed a second half penalty at Victoria Road taken by Izale McCleod, something which angered Moniz, who revealed that 3 players were battling for the ball. Despite County beingunbeaten in their last three games, Moniz is aware that his side appear to take the foot of the pedal to early in games “we are inconsistent, we have two faces, last week after 30 minutes we stopped playing football, today second half we had nothing, it is like they are afraid to take initiative “

10 of County’s 12 points have been collected at Meadow Lane something that has been noted by County. Without a win in their last 5 away matches, Moniz is urging his side to replicate the away performance which saw them push Aston Villa all the way in the Carling Cup earlier in the season. Speaking to nottscountyfc.co.uk Moniz stated about Orient, “we can be afraid, we respect them, they lost again to Carlisle but we heard that were the better team. We need to play the same as Villa but need to be better defensively”

• County only picked up 2 wins in last 13 away games in all competitions, only 1 of them in the league – 2-0 win at Stevenage on the Opening day
• 1 clean sheet in last 10 away games – conceding 22
• 12 out of the 16 goals conceded have been in the second half

It is clear that despite results, Moniz is unhappy with his sides performance and commented “We have to dominate for 90 minutes, we have to be eager to get more goals, it appears we are too easily satisfied which is unbelievable, a habit which has too change” He added “we are coming now, we have to go for the win at Orient, we need to do it for 90 minutes we can’t go for the draw”

Team News

Orient remain without long term absentee Paul McCallum who is out for at least 6 months after suffered cruciate ligament damage in is knee against Northampton last week. Orient have added Adam Chicksen to their squad with the defender joining on loan from Brighton today and is available for selection tomorrow. Alex Ciask is away on International Duty with Austraila so Charlie Grainger is set to start in goal for the O’s.

County are still without Rob Milson and Kyle de Silva who remain sidelined with injuries however Adam Campbell is set to continue after netting in midweek. Jon Stead is pushing for a start after impressing coming off the bench at Dagenham.

Head to Head – Leyton Orient 26, Draw 19, Notts County 30

Last Meeting – 10/02/15 – Leyton Orient 0-1 Notts County

• Orient have not won in their previous 3 meetings between the sides
• Last win came in 2013 in a 5-1 home win over County

Prediction – Leyton Orient 2-2 Notts County

County have only failed to score in one of their 13 games so far this season and have netted in every game away. Orient will look to bounce back from defeat on Tuesday but County will get off to a fast start. Orient will equalize in the second half but fail to capitalise on their dominance.

Key bets

• Both Teams to Score, County to score first and highest scoring second half.