Brisbane Road boss praises former Wales under-21 midfielder after impressing off the substitutes bench

Leyton Orient head coach Ian Hendon was full of praise for Lloyd James after his extended cameo against Morecambe on Saturday.

The O’s midfielder was introduced in the 63rd minute and put in an assured display at Globe Arena to help Orient achieve a 1-0 win, which keeps them sixth in League Two.

He hadn’t featured for over a month after being replaced at half time against Wycombe Wanderers on September 19.

But after coming on in the final minutes of the 1-1 draw with Luton on October 20, James played a key role in helping the east Londoners win on Saturday.

Hendon said: “We have a small squad but we can rotate a few of the players if we need to.

“Lloyd has come on at Morecambe and freshened it up a little bit. Blair Turgott is there still and Dean Cox as well - the rest might do him good.

“When ‘Lloydy’ come on, he did what he does. He does exactly what you ask of him – day in day out and that is exactly what you want from your players.

“I have to give credit where credit is due. He was left out of the side and has not moaned once and continues to train like the professional he is.

“He has a big part to play here, that’s for sure. I am delighted that he got on and done so well.”

James continued his return to form with a goal in the O’s development match against AFC Bournemouth yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.

He was unable to help his side win, however, as they lost 2-1 despite having Alan Dunne, Frazer Saw, Scott Kashket and Cox played the full 90 against the Premier League outfit.

Ollie Palmer wasn’t involved after starting at Morecambe and lasting the whole match despite injury concerns before the game.

Hendon added: “Ollie ran himself into the ground on Saturday, especially after Tuesday when he come off at Luton with a bit of hamstring trouble.

“There were no effects from that at Morecambe and it was a good team performance – exactly what we needed.

“We took Jay Simpson off just to have fresh legs. We put Blair up there to try and stretch them a little bit.

“But we didn’t really put the balls in behind them towards the end of the game to stretch them, but Jay, like Ollie, worked hard.”