Leyton Orient captain Jobi McAnuff urges his side to maintain their consistency ahead of their trip to Braintree on Tuesday. The O’s head to Essex top of the table after a 3-0 win at Harrogate on Saturday and McAnuff knows that Braintree will be a different test. Speaking to leytonorient.com “these are the games we need to make sure we stay really focused and switched on and approach the game in the right manner”.

• Sit 1st on 26 points
• League Record – P12  W7  D5  F22  A8
• Won five of the last six and seven of the last nine games

Orient’s win at Harrogate extended their unbeaten run to 12 games and equalled their longest unbeaten run at the start of a season. Macauley Bonne opened the scoring before a brace from Jobi McAnuff saw them return to London with all three points. Head Coach Justin Edinburgh stated to leytonorient.com “I thought from start to finish we were controlled, it was a tough encounter, we knew it would be but credit to the players they did all the things we asked and shown them carried it out to perfection”.

Orient’s last Six Results

The O’s grabbed the initiative in the first half going 2-0 ahead and were tested by Harrogate but stood strong. With the win, Orient are the now the only remaining unbeaten side in the National League and Edinburgh praised the whole group. Speaking to leytonorient.com “they are prepared to work extremely hard for one another in both boxes. Charlie Lee and Craig Clay went toe to toe in midfield with two real competitors. No-one gave an inch, we had to go right till the end, they did ask questions but we had the answers today. In terms of a whole round performance, it was near enough perfect”.

• Kept five league clean sheets – Two away
• Four clean sheets in their last six
• Two clean sheets in their last three away games
• Conceded just eight league goals – only Fylde (7) have conceded less

Orient have made great progress under Edinburgh since his arrival last December with McAnuff highlighting they are now capable of dealing with different tactics. Speaking to leytonorient.com “I thought we were really dominant today, they probably thought with the big man up front they could throw long balls into the box but I felt that’s where we were strong. We look very strong whatever way teams want to play against us, we can deal with it now. We have a lot of strings to our bow, we just need to keep it going”.

• After 12 games last season – Orient had conceded 20 (only 8 this season)
• Away League Record – P6  W3  D3  L0  F9  A4
• Only lost one of their last 11 away games – W5  D5  L1
• Away League Record under Edinburgh – W9  D6  L3  – conceded just 11 goals

Edinburgh’s men are a point clear at the top but it still remains tight at the top with just four points separating the top seven. Despite the victory, Edinburgh was quick to look ahead to Braintree knowing that this is no foregone conclusion. Speaking to leytonorient.com “they won’t be complacency, we are fully aware in this league anyone can beat anyone. You can’t expect to win but we want to win every game. We need to go there and approach in exactly the same way. If we don’t we will become unstuck”.

• Only team in National League to score in every league game
• Scored in last 13 league games and 14 of their last 15 games
• Scored in nine of their last ten away matches

McAnuff’s goals on Saturday meant he has now scored in the last 18 seasons and is still enjoying his football. Despite Braintree sitting second bottom, the 36 year old will not be taking the Iron lightly. Speaking to leytonorient.com “Tuesday will pose different problems for us, whatever has happened in the 12 games so far we have adapted to every circumstances we have come up against. We won’t be taking them lightly, it’s the most important one, we are fully focused on getting another result”. 

Orient’s next Six Fixtures

Team News

Saturday’s fixture at Harrogate saw Edinburgh name the same starting 11 for the eighth consecutive game and he could name it again tomorrow. Dale Gorman, Matt Harrold and James Alabi will be pushing for starts but are likely to start on the bench. Sam Ling and James Brophy are nearing full fitness but still a little away.

Last Time Out – 3-0 win at Harrogate

Starting 11 vs Harrogate

Prediction – Braintree 0-2 Leyton Orient