New manager discusses his honour of taking the top job at Brisbane Road and how they must find a winning formula quickly

Leyton Orient boss Andy Edwards says he is immensely proud to be manager of the Brisbane Road club and has explained to his players the minimum requirement expected from them ahead of a crucial period in their season.

The O’s find themselves with 18 points from 19 League Two games after 11 defeats and just five wins in the campaign so far.

Such totals resulted in Andy Hessenthaler and Alberto Cavasin losing the manager’s job and taking the brunt of criticism from fans, while the players got off quite lightly despite the terrible recent form, but now they have no excuses.

“We are trying to go back to basics and that means being hard to play against and working on every aspect of our game,” said Edwards.

“There is a lot of work to be done and it is important we don’t try and get too much information out there. But the supporters are important and they want to see desire, hard work and commitment.

“I’m not saying anything after is a bonus, that’s not the case, but you have to give that and that is the first message we are trying to get across to the group. If you deliver that as a player, I think the supporters will back you.”

Towards the end of Cavasin’s time in charge, it seemed as if some of the squad were not playing for the Italian with the language barrier proving to be a problem.

With Edwards now in the hotseat, the issues with communication are no longer a predicament and you would expect Orient to be better organised, as was slightly evident at Doncaster Rovers on November 26.

The 45-year-old is fully aware the most important task for himself and his coaching team is getting O’s winning games regularly once again, especially at Brisbane Road.

“Our initial aim is to steady the ship and get a real purpose about how we are working, though I’m not saying that wasn’t happening before,” said Edwards.

“We want to give a direction for the players to work towards and try to get some results however that might be. We all have an idea of how we want the game played, but we’re in a dogfight at the moment.

“We want to work towards developing an attractive way of playing, but now it is about finding a winning formula – that’s the most important thing.”

Orient’s form has been so poor they have claimed a solitary victory in each of the last three months in all competitions.

They won 2-1 at Morecambe way back on September 3, but then had to wait until October 22 for their next triumph, which came away at fellow strugglers Hartlepool United.

The O’s last victory was a 3-0 win at Colchester United on November 12 and the long wait for success helps explain why they have struggled so much.

Since September’s triumph at the Shrimps, Orient have drawn just twice and it is that poor form which has resulted in Edwards getting his chance.

He added: “I’ve been at the club for seven years now and had a number of roles – predominately with the academy. I stepped up with Kevin Nolan when he took the job earlier in the year and continued with Andy.

“To be manager is a genuine honour. I’m a local lad, which puts a bit of added pressure on me because I have a lot of friends, neighbours and people I see out and about who are Orient fans.

“In a lot of respects it is hard to get away from it, but this is a great honour for me and something I’m really proud of and looking forward to.”