Australian stopper praises Brisbane Road boss, discusses how quickly Orient have gelled and new defenders Frazer Shaw and Connor Essam

East London Advertiser: Leyton Orient goalkeeper Alex Cisak punches the ball clear against Southend United with defender Connor Essam (four) in close proximity (pic: Simon O'Connor).Leyton Orient goalkeeper Alex Cisak punches the ball clear against Southend United with defender Connor Essam (four) in close proximity (pic: Simon O'Connor). (Image: Simon O'Connor Photography)

Leyton Orient goalkeeper Alex Cisak has credited head coach Ian Hendon as the reason behind the good atmosphere at the club this season.

Although the O’s suffered relegation last year, the mood in the camp is completely different this campaign with the Brisbane Road outfit top of the League Two table with four wins from four.

The work Hendon achieved during the summer has been quite remarkable with the 43-year-old having to oversee a huge turnover in players.

He has brought in nine, including Cisak, and all of them have shown their worth in some sort of capacity.

It makes Orient a very happy place right now and their Australian goalkeeper is delighted with the way things are going after spending the second half of last season on loan at the club when they were battling relegation in League One.

Cisak said: “It is good to be back. The atmosphere is a lot better than it was last year. Being part of a winning team, having won four on the bounce, is brilliant.

“I guess when the team is losing and in the relegation zone, like it was last season, the changing room is a little bit different. When you are winning games everyone is enjoying their football and happy and the atmosphere is really good.

“The manager deserves a lot of credit for that because he has brought the right players in and created that atmosphere at the club. Everyone is pushing each other and happy as well.

“I am a little surprised by how quickly everyone has gelled. Normally it can take quite a while, but obviously the pre-season must have been good here and the boys went away to Spain for the week so that must have helped.

“The gaffer has signed the right players with the right mentality for the club. It is down to the players to take advantage of that and things have gone well.”

Orient may only have conceded three goals in four league games, but Cisak refuted claims they have had some easy matches so far.

He believes the players deserve a lot of credit for how they have bounced back from the disappointment of losing a two-goal lead at Newport and still getting the result.

Two players who Cisak is working closely with after signing in the summer are Connor Essam and Frazer Shaw.

Both have joined the O’s after doing well in non league football, but they have made the transition to the professional game with ease so far.

“Yes Connor and Frazer have impressed me. Obviously it is basically the first time they are playing in the Football League and it is quite a tough level to be involved in,” said Cisak.

“It is a very physical division and it is very demanding of them, but they have done very well and settled in nicely.

“I wouldn’t say the first few games were easy. We have obviously done well and won by a few goals in most of the games we have played.

“I think it is good for us to have that feeling of disappointment in a game, like we did at Newport, and then turning around and scoring the third. You have to give credit to the boys for doing that and getting the win.”