Leyton Orient defender Nicky Hunt wants squad to have more belief after Colchester United victory
Leyton Orient full-back Nicky Hunt curls into the corner from just outside the area at Colchester United (pic: Simon O'Connor). - Credit: Archant
Club captain reflects on new formation and east Londoners mentality when it comes to playing at Brisbane Road
Leyton Orient full-back Nicky Hunt leaps for joy after scoring just the third goal of his professional career at Colchester United (pic: Simon O'Connor). - Credit: Archant
Leyton Orient defender Nicky Hunt was full of praise for two players in particular after Saturday’s 3-0 triumph at Colchester United in League Two.
The full-back’s 47th minute finish was sandwiched between two clinical Jay Simpson strikes to move the O’s up to 19th.
Alberto Cavasin decided to play a diamond formation in midfield with Robbie Weir at the base and Michael Collins at the tip while Gavin Massey and Nigel Atangana were asked to cover out wide and in the middle.
“We have hard working players and no matter what team was picked on Saturday everybody would have given 100 per cent,” said Hunt.
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“The formation we played was narrow and we were asking a lot from Gavin and Nigel because they had to get out to Colchester’s wing-backs as well as cover the midfield.
Leyton Orient's Gavin Massey takes on Colchester United's Richard Brindley (pic: Simon O'Connor). - Credit: Archant
“The manager wants the back four to stay very narrow and not concede any goals, which we did. For the large part of the game we did very well, but they are going to get chances because we’re not Barcelona!
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“We are not going to stop a team from having a shot or a cross so it is what it is, but we’ve got to believe in ourselves now and crack on.
“I feel we need to go two, three, four, five, six, seven or even eight unbeaten which is no mean feat, but easily done in this league.”
The former Accrington Stanley defender called on Orient’s squad to believe in themselves more ahead of returning to Brisbane Road this weekend.
Blackpool are the visitors to east London and Cavasin is in desperate need of a first victory at home.
Hunt added: “We just need to believe in ourselves more than anything. Maybe we need to think we’re playing away when we’re playing at home.
“Maybe it is a mental thing and we’ll have to address that this week, but I’m sure the manager will put in place a plan to beat Blackpool.”
Cavasin has bore some of the brunt of O’s fans frustration in recent times and fairly so on a lot of occasions, but made a good decision last Saturday.
The choice of a diamond formation at Colchester worked well even if the hosts should have scored at least twice.
Ian Hendon used the tactic at the start of last season and it brought great success initially and especially for Simpson.
While it will not work every week, a glance at the upcoming fixture list suggests it may be worth sticking with for the rest of the month.
Blackpool visit E10 on Saturday before Exeter City make the trip to east London next Tuesday and both are teams that try to play football.
Orient travel to Doncaster Rovers on November 26 afterwards and again that’s another club keen to play on the floor.
The diamond formation will not work against everyone in League Two, yet it benefits Simpson and Cavasin should look to keep it for the next three games.
