Leyton Orient have been well supported home and away this season and should give the E10 faithful something to celebrate on Saturday
Jobi McAnuff has reiterated his message of not taking anything for granted ahead of Leyton Orient’s final game of the National League campaign at home to Braintree Town on Saturday, but also discussed the loyal support of the fans.
The O’s have recorded a home attendance of over six thousand on six occasions this season which is astonishing for a non-league club.
It is not only in east London where the supporters have turned out in numbers with the club’s away support arguably the best in the division.
Given what has happened to Orient since the League One play-off final defeat back in May 2014, it is extraordinary how united the fanbase has recently become.
With title rivals Salford City and Solihull Moors three points off Justin Edinburgh’s team, promotion celebrations should occur for O’s on Saturday afternoon and it will be a moment to savour for the E10 faithful.
Captain McAnuff admitted: “The fans will come expecting us to finish the job and it would be nice to put a stamp on it.
“We have had a great season so far and everything that has happened at the club from my previous time here and the faith the fans have shown in us is incredible.
“The attendances this season home and away have been incredible and it would be great to get over the line and do it in front of them on Saturday.
“A lot of them have been away and turned up in their thousands at home, so it would be a fitting way to do it, but we are not taking anything for granted because there is a lot of work to do.”
Orient’s plummet from League One under the ownership of Francesco Becchetti is known by most, but the treatment McAnuff received during his first spell at the club is only really common knowledge for those who are associated with the O’s.
The one-time Jamaica international was forced to train with the youth-team during his second season (2015/16) at Brisbane Road after erractic Italian owner at the time deemed McAnuff’s performances unacceptable during the previous term when relegation occurred.
Eventually he was allowed to return to the first-team fold and acted in the most dignified manner, almost helping O’s reach the League Two play-offs that campaign before injury brought a premature end to his impressive comeback.
It would be a real fairytale story for him to lead Orient to promotion after making the brave decision to return to the club in 2018 following a year at Stevenage.
McAnuff added: “Any situation in life when you have adversity or a negative time, when you do finally overcome it and reach your goal it does feel that little bit sweeter.
“We have some great owners (Nigel Travis and Kent Teague) at the club and they have really afforded us that stability the club didn’t have for three years under the previous regime. It would be great to do it for them and to have them there.”
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