New Leyton Orient manager Andy Edwards is taking his side back to basics after his appointment on Wednesday. Edwards becomes Orient’s third manager of the season, replacing Alberto Cavasin who was sacked after his sides 1-0 home defeat to Exeter on Tuesday; his eighth defeat in ten games.

• Sit 22nd on 18 points
• League Record – P18  W5  D3  L10  F20  A23
• Form in last 8 (league) – W2  D1  L5  F8  A9
• Form in all competitions (most recent first) – LLWLLLWLLLDLLLD
• Have only won twice since the start of September
• Taking only 11 points from a possible 39

Edwards  has already taken charge twice this season after Andy Hessenthaler was sacked in September but made it clear that “we are going back to basics”. Speaking ahead of his sides tough trip to Doncaster tomorrow, Edwards knows that everyone at the club needs to pull together. “We are in a relegation fight, we need to make sure we stick together as a group of players, staff and from the fans to the top. We must work our socks off to get out of the situation” leytonorient.com

• Away Record – P8 W4  D3  L1  F14  A9
• Have the 4th best away record in the league
• Only Exeter (15) and Plymouth (21) have taken more points on the road
• 83% of their points have come away  – 15/18
• Last away games (most recent first) – WLLWLDLDW

The defeat to Exeter on Tuesday was Orient’s tenth of the campaign with only Exeter (11) losing more in League Two this season. Midfielder Nigel Atagana knows that his side have to do better, speaking after the loss to leytonorient.com “the next game is massive, it won’t be easy but tomorrow we have to come in and focus on Saturday’s game, hopefully looking for an away win. We have to come back with points”

• Have failed to score in nine of their last 14 matches
• Have scored three goals in their last two away league games
• Failed to score in two of their last three away games in all competitions
• Only Exeter (8) have failed to score in more league games than Orient (7)
• 14 of their 20 leagues goals have come away from home
• 14 of their 20 goals have been scored in the second half

Captain Robbie Weir was substituted on Tuesday and has been crticised publicly for his displays this season but  welcomed the appointment of Edwards until the end of the season, “he has stepped in now, we have no excuses. He knows the leagues, he is a great coach and the perfect man for the job”.

• Both teams have score in just 50% of their league games
• Only one of their last six has seen both sides score
• But six of their eight away games both teams have scored

Speaking to leytonorient.com on Friday, Weir is knows that his side have no excuses now, “he has been here from day one, we all know what he is about. He has got respect, everyone knows his preparation and he give us all the information we need. It is the managers first game in charge and we hope to put on a big performance”

• Seven of their ten defeats have been by a one goal margin
• 15 of their 23 league goals conceded have been in the second half
• No team has conceded less first half goals than Orient in League Two (1)
• Have only trailed for 46 minutes in away league games this season – the least in League Two
• Only Orient and Luton have failed to conceded in the opening 30 minutes of an away game this season

Edwards took charge of his first training session yesterday, with the “players all receptive, there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm with the application spot on”. With the O’s sitting just outside the relegation places on goal difference, Edwards understands what needs to be improved, “we need to be organised and structured, have good knowledge of the opposition, we may simplify our game and go back to basics”. He added “we need more clean sheets and to defend better as a group”.

• Kept only one clean sheet in last 10 matches (3-0 vs Colchester)
• Only kept three in 23 matches this season
• Kept one clean sheet in last five away matches – two in 11 away matches
• Only scored two or more in six leagues games – five of them away

It doesn’t get much harder for Edwards who’s first proper match in charge is away at Doncaster Rovers, “it will be a tough test, they are on a good run of form, have good players, good manager but we will go there full of optimism”.

• Record scoring first – W4 D2 L0
• Only scored first in one of their last 14 games
• Have won 14 of their last 16 league games scoring first
• Only lost one of their last 22 league games scoring first – W15 D6 L1 – defeat home to Exeter (January 2016)
• Only lost one of their last 14 away games scoring first – W9 D4 L1  – last defeat away at Hartlepool 3-1 (November 2015)

A positive on Tuesday was the performance of 17 year old defender Myles Judd who made his first team debut for the club. Judd started at right back but reverted to left back after Callum Kennedy was substituted at half time but was Orient’s best performer. The Orient scholar revealed he the presence of Nicky Hunt helped him massively, “all of the lads were good to me. Nicky was a massive help giving me information and help with positioning” leytonorient.com

• Record conceding first – W1  L10     away W1 D1
• Only won one of their last 22 games conceding first – W1  D2  L19
• Have lost 13 of their last 14 games conceding first
• Last win came at Hartlepool, October 22nd 3-1 win
• Won only one of their last 16 away games conceding first – W1 D6 L9

Doncaster head into tomorrow’s clash third in League Two, coming off a 2-1 home win over Hartlepool last weekend. A late Liam Mandeville strike earned Rovers another three points in their search for an instant return to League One after suffering relegation in May.

• Sit 3rd on 33 points, five points off top spot
• League Record – P17  W10  D3  L4  F35  A24
• Only Plymouth (12) have won more games in League Two
• Top Scorers in League Two, only Newcastle (36) and Scunthorpe (40) have scored more goals in the football league
• Form in last 8 (league) – W5 D2 L1  (Only Carlisle (19) have picked up more points
• Form in all competitions (most recent first) – WWDLDLWWDW

Manager Darren Ferguson was really pleased with the performance of his side, speaking to doncasterrooversfc.co.uk on Thursday “I was delighted with last weekend, the most dominant we have been for a while, it was timely and we showed a real threat going forward, playing on the front foot. Collectively they did really well”.

• Home Record – P9 W6  D3 L0  F18  A9
• Best home record in the division
• Only Porstmouth (21) have scored more at home
• Last home games (most recent first) – WDDWWDD
• Last home league defeat came 1-0 loss to Blackpool, 28/03/16

Mandeville netted the winner a week on from changing the game away at Exeter with Ferguson happy with his performance levels, “He has a real believe that he deserved a start, he has lot that doubt, he warrants a shirt but that it the challenge for everyone to perform to a level where they stay in the team regardless of who returns to the team”

• Only team in League Two to score in every league match
• One of two teams in the football league to net in every match (Fleetwood)
• Only failed to score in one of their 22 games this season (EFL trophy vs Port Vale)
• Have scored 2 or more in seven of their last eight games – including their last four games
• Have scored 2 or more in 11 of their 17 league games – six of their nine home matches

Sitting in the automatic promotion places, Ferguson is pleased with his sides points haul but knows there is still improvement for his side. After the three sides around Rovers all dropped points on Tuesday the former Peterborough boss knows that Saturday is a crucial game for his side. “The important thing come 5 o clock is get a win if we can. It is a key fixture, we want to put ourselves in the best possible position for the game in hand next week. We can be in a good position cutting the gap to two points before playing the league leaders”.

• Only kept one clean sheet in their last six
• Kept six in their 22 games this season – four have come at home
• Only kept one clean sheet in their last nine league matches
• Kept two clean sheets in their last four home games
• Have not conceded a goal from open play in the league since 29th October

John Marquis hit his tenth of the season last weekend and is really enjoying his football. Marquis spent time on loan last season gaining promotion with Northampton and after his summer move to the Keepmoat he is hoping to do the same. Speaking after hitting double figures to doncasterrovers.co.uk “I want to playing in a winning side, playing regularly and enjoying my football which I am doing at the moment. My target was to play and force my way into the managers plans, it has happened so touch wood it continues”.

• Six of their 10 wins and four of their six home wins have been by one goal
• Four of their last five league wins have been by 1 goal
• Both teams have scored in 13 of their 17 league games including six of their nine home games
• No team in League Two has led for more minutes than Doncaster (645), led for 387 minutes at home
• Only had seven different scorers

Marquis spent the first half of the season at Orient last season and joins defender Mathieu Baudry in facing his former club. Baudry spent four seasons at Orient before moving to Donny in the summer and is loving working under Ferguson. Speaking to doncasterrovers.co.uk on Thursday “I am in full admiration of him, he is too good for this level. He gives you so many tools to play and everyone knows what they have got to do. I enjoy coming to training to learn and work”.

• No team has scored more goals in the first 15 minutes of matches than Donny
• Have opened the scoring in five games in the first 15 minutes of matches
• Have scored nine goals in the last 15 minutes, only Portsmouth (11) have scored more
• Have netted 14 in the final 30 minutes of matches including – four of their last five goals

Ferguson watched Cavasin’s last game in charge on Tuesday and felt that the change was coming, “we felt that they would do it, the atmosphere on Tuesday made us think it would be the case. Edwards takes over and has had two games already. They played a different formation than they have been playing recently” . He added “it brings a different dynamic to the game, they struggled at home and have been clearly better away. We need to make sure we get to a level where we are very aggressive on and off the ball”.

• Record scoring first – W9 D0  L2  Home W6
• Have won their last seven home games scoring first
• Last defeat came 19/03/16, 2-1 vs Peterborough
• Only lost one of their last 16 home game scoring first
• Only Luton (12) have opened the scoring more than Donny (11)
• Record conceding first – W1  D3  L2   Home D3
• Only won one of their last 12 home games conceding first – W1  D5  L6

Team News

Leyton Orient will be waiting on the fitness of captain Robbie Weir and Callum Kennedy who both were substituted at half time on Tuesday through illness. Ulrich Nnomo, Yvan Erichot remain doubts while Liam Kelly and Harry Cornick are out through injury. Myles Judd could continue at right following an impressive display on Tuesday with striker Ollie Palmer pushing for a recall.

Doncaster will be without Harry Middleton and Andy Williams who continue their rehab from injury while keeper Ross Etheridge is out with a broken finger. Marko Marosi is fit to play with young keeper Louis Rose on the bench.

Gary McSheffrey (groin), Luke McCullough, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (both knee) and Mitchell Lund (kidney) all remain out.

Head to Head – Doncaster 11, Draw  6, Leyton Orient 14

Last meeting – 14/04/15 – Leyton Orient 0-1 Doncaster 

• Orient won on their last trip to the Keepmoat, 2-0 2014
• Orient have only won one of their last 10 meetings – W1  D3  L6
• None of the last four meetings have seen both team score
• Orient have conceded 11 goals in their last four trips to Doncaster
• Three of their last four defeats have been to nil

Prediction – Doncaster Rovers 3-1 Leyton Orient (12-1 with Ladbrokes)

Evens with Ladbrokes – 2nd half produces more goals