Leyton Orient winger Dean Cox insists it is imperative for his side to set their stall out in their home matches. Cox who made his first appearance in an Orient shirt in just over 9 months on Tuesday night against Fulham is delighted to be back on the pitch.

Speaking to leytonorient.com ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Newport County, “it was great to be back, it has been a long road so thankfully it was nice to get back on the pitch. I was obviously disappointed on Saturday but it was nice to come on at home with the icing on the cake two assists and two goals for Paul”.

Cox who sustained an ACL injury to his knee in early November 2015 thanked the work done by Peter Webb and Craig Smith in his rehabilitation, “those two were instrumental in getting me back, I can’t thank them enough for that, the knee feels great and I am looking forward to getting more minutes”.

Cox who is a fans favorite at Brisbane Road thanked the crowd for “the great reception, they have been great since I have been here. They have been right behind me, I want to do well for them and hopefully I did that Tuesday night. But it is all about the league, we want to get out the division. We have good players but we have to prove it. This year we are more determined than every to get over the line”. 

Cox’s introduction alongside his “ACL Buddy” Paul McCallum was the catalyst to almost see Orient battle back from a 3-0 deficit against Fulham on Tuesday night. Cox assisted twice for McCallum and acknowledged their good relationship “we started like a house on fire last season until we got injured. He’s one of those players that likes crosses, I like crossing the ball. He gets in the right positions which helps me and I help him. I am over the moon for him”

Orient’s first defeat of the season wasn’t a concern for manager Andy Hessenthaler who was happy with his sides performance. Speaking to leytonorient.com ahead of tomorrow’s first home league match, “I thought the first 45 the team did really well, we worked hard and probably created the better chances. They had more ball than us and it was unfortunate we conceded from a set play. Generally the performance was really good”.

Hessenthaler now faces a selection headache with McCallum and Cox in fine form at the end of the Fulham match but likes having that problem. Post match he stated “that is great momentum for finishing the game, it gives me a major problem to pick a team for Saturday with players making an impact off the bench. There is food for thought for the weekend but it is nice to have that problem”.

Orient’s point away to Cheltenham last week proved more significant according to Hessenthaler after Charlton lost there in midweek. Despite being favorites with the bookmakers to win tomorrow, the Orient boss is expecting a tough encounter, “we’ve watched them, it will be a difficult game, they can change their shape a number of times. The manager has made good signings and turned it around there. They will come and make it difficult but we need to get our first win on the board”.

Cox pulled no punches in what result his side need to get against the Exiles, “it is a must win for me, we need to set our stall out at home, we are a big club in this division, we have recruited well and need to hit the ground running. I am fit and ready to go, tomorrow can’t come soon enough”.

Leyton Orient’s First Home League Game result in past six seasons

County arrive in E10 ahead of back to back 3-2 home defeats to Mansfield and MK Dons this week. Despite losing twice, manager Warren Feeney is not too concerned by the results of his side. Speaking to newport-county.co.uk ahead of the trip, “it is obviously disappointing but we don’t look to much into it. We are taking the positives out the game with scoring goals we just need to shut up shop at the other end”.

Feeney was appointed permanent County boss at the start of the year with primary aim to keep the Exiles up. In his first full season as manager, Feeney has described it as a “fresh start”, My objective was to keep last year’s squad up, I did that, it is a fresh start. The last two games we have seen positives and I am confident these boys are working and playing together”.

It was a major summer of recruitment in Wales with Feeney bringing in 16 players to his side. The former Cardiff City man understands that “football is probably the hardest job in the world, everybody has a opinion. If i wanted to sign those players, I would have done it. It was tough last year but it is different now”.

Newport’s Summer Signings

Defender Scott Bennett knows that his side have to move on quickly after his side squandered a 2-0 lead on Tuesday. Speaking to newport-county.co.uk “we’re very disappointed with both results, I think we have been in both games and probably the better side but silly mistakes and errors at wrong times have made us lose games. It is only one game in the league, we need to pick up results, I think we have a real good squad here”.

Bennett acknowledges that his side are not getting it quite right at the moment, “one silly mistake leads to three or four, we need to be cutting out mistakes then we should be okay. Once we stop conceding sloppy goals and make teams earn their goals, I think we will climb the table”.

Feeney spoke about his side going back to basics to ensure that they get things right on the training ground to move on in matches. Both defeats have been suffered with a goal conceded in the dying minutes of games, “clean sheets is what we’re after, to concede so late and lose the game, it does hurt. You think about it all the time, it is something we are looking to put right”.

After the summer signings have bedded in Bennett feels his side have the ability to hurt teams in the division this season, “we have enough players going forward to create problems for teams, Jenno (Jennison Myrie Williams) and Jack Compton on the wings. Their delivery is spot on, the fact we are scoring goals is a good thing and hopefully we can continue to do that”.

Feeney hopes his side can look forward to the game tomorrow “we have got to make sure we apply ourselves and go in with confidence. It is a fantastic game for us, Leyton Orient are quite rightly one of the favorites to go up. They have fantastic players but it was a game we had a chance of winning last year. It will be a good game, it is what you want. All games are hard but as footballers this ones should excite you” .

Newport’s First Away League Matches results in past three seasons

Team News

Tom Parkes could be a doubt after missing the Fulham defeat in midweek after suffering a discloated shoulder last weekend at Cheltenham. Jordan Bowery also missed the defeat in midweek with a bang on the knee and remains a doubt tomorrow. Nigel Atangana, Dean Cox and Paul McCallum will all be looking for starts after impressing after their introductions on Tuesday evening.

Newport will be without striker Jon Parkin who serves the final game of his suspension while Lenell John-Lewis is a long term absentee. Jack Compton is out after suffering a calf injury on Tuesday while recent loan signings Josh Sheehan and Jordan Green will be looking for starts.

Head to Head – Leyton Orient 10, Draw 13, Newport County 17

Last Meeting – 26/01/2016 – Leyton Orient 1-0 Newport

• Orient are unbeaten in their last four meetings, winning 3 of them
• Orient have scored in  5 of their last 6 meetings
• The last 0-0 between the two sides came (01/03/1988)

Predicition – Leyton Orient 2-1 Newport County