Brisbane Road boss praises French forward and squads reaction since his arrival last month

East London Advertiser: Leyton Orient forward Armand Gnanduillet finds the net against Cambridge United (pic: Simon O'Connor).Leyton Orient forward Armand Gnanduillet finds the net against Cambridge United (pic: Simon O'Connor). (Image: Simon O'Connor Photography)

Leyton Orient player-manager Kevin Nolan has praised the impact Armand Gnanduillet has made since coming to the club.

The French forward scored his first goal for the O’s on Saturday during the 3-1 loss to Cambridge United after signing from League One side Chesterfield last month.

It was scant consolation for the Brisbane Road outfit as more defensive errors cost them vital League Two points.

But the 23-year-old’s display was encouraging and it seems he is pushing to start against Portsmouth this weekend.

Nolan said: “He has come on in the last three games and made a difference so we will see if he starts soon.

“He has done well, scored a goal and we will see, when we sit down as a coaching team and see where we are with the team for Portsmouth, if ‘Army’ is selected.”

The Orient boss achieved success in his first two matches in charge and the foundations for those results were clean sheets.

Nolan concedes he wants to get back to that, but was quick to explain that he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on his players.

He added: “Keeping clean sheets is a main priority of course, but listen I don’t want my players going out and thinking ‘if I make a mistake, I am going to be dropped’ because that is not the affect.

“What has happened against Cambridge was a collection of mistakes and that has lost us the game over the 90 minutes, not just one individual error.

“It is a collection of errors, one after another after another and that has meant we have got no points and we come away with a defeat.”

Despite the frustrating loss on Saturday, Nolan praised the effort of his squad since his arrival on January 21.

They have achieved six points out of a possible nine and even though they made mistakes against the U’s, they have looked more solid at the back.

“At the end of the day we have got good lads here and they all want to work hard and do the right things,” said Nolan.

“They are going to have times when they don’t have the best of games, everyone has had it and I certainly have throughout my career.

“You have your critics, but these boys have given me everything over the last three games and maybe Saturday was a step too far, I don’t know.

“That is something I will learn over the coming months, but the one thing I have to say is that I am pleased with the way they have reacted since I have come in.”