Brisbane Road head coach reveals he is hopeful of adding more players to his squad before next weekend
Leyton Orient head coach Ian Hendon is looking to bring in an experienced forward over the next week before his side travel to take on Crawley Town in League Two on Saturday.
The O’s have been left a little bit short in terms of attacking options after it was confirmed recently that Paul McCallum would miss at least six months of football after suffering cruciate ligament damage.
Jay Simpson once again showed his worth last weekend by scoring the crucial second during the 3-1 win against Notts County at Brisbane Road, but Ollie Palmer and Scott Kashket are the only other forward options.
Hendon revealed he is looking to bring in somebody that has played at League Two or above over the next couple of days.
“I have a specific type that I want. We have got young Scotty on the bench so I don’t want to go down that route and take an untried youngster,” said the O’s boss.
“I want someone that has been around it and played at this level or above. That is where we are looking, I have got a couple of options that we tried to arrange last week.
“The other club wouldn’t allow it so we’ll pick that up after the weekend. I am hopeful of completing that before the Crawley match.”
Orient were able to bring in Brighton & Hove Albion defender Adam Chicksen before their clash with County and he played the full 90 minutes against the Magpies.
The left-back looked assured on his second debut for the club and Hendon went on to reveal he would like to add two more people to his squad.
“Adam has come in to boost the squad and we’ll probably be looking this week, if we can, to add at least one maybe two,” added the O’s boss.
“We’ll see how we go. We have been trying over the past week, I wouldn’t say desperately, but trying to strengthen so we’ll see how we go next week.”
Orient’s triumph on Saturday was their first since August 29 and ensured they moved back into the automatic promotion spots in League Two.
They weren’t at their fluent best, but showed their character and battling qualities to defeat a strong County outfit.
Goalkeeper Alex Cisak wasn’t expected to be available for the clash, but he didn’t fly out to link up with the Australian national team until yesterday.
He made his presence felt, stopping away substitute Adam Campbell putting the visitors ahead with a fine close range block during the second half.
“Alex did make a good save, low down and Lee Harrison, the goalkeeper coach, has just reminded me of that,” added Hendon.
“That is what he is there for, he has kept us going and their goalkeeper has made a few saves as well and we are happy with the result, of course we are.”
It was another bruising encounter for O’s skipper Mathieu Baudry too, but he delivered arguably his best performance of the campaign.
He wore Petr Cech style head gear for the second period against County, but battled on to play the full 90 minutes.
As did two-goal hero Sammy Moore, who seemed unable to continue after injuring his knee minutes before his stunning second.
The former AFC Wimbledon man continued, however, and both earned praise for the Orient head coach, who added: “Not only Sammy showed great character, but Matty at the back.
“He has got a nasty cut right across his forehead so for both of them to continue shows what they are about. It is a great finish by Sammy and I am delighted with him.”
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