Former Wales under-21 international positive the O’s will get back to winning ways soon
Leyton Orient midfielder Lloyd James is confident they will start turning their draws into wins ahead of the busy Christmas period coming up.
The 27-year-old started for the O’s at Mansfield Town on Saturday and helped them earn a 1-1 draw at Field Mill. It was the fourth consecutive match the east Londoners had drawn in all competitions.
A winner was needed last night on Tuesday, though, as Orient faceed Scunthorpe United for a second round FA Cup replay with the victor having a trip to Chelsea in the next round.
Unfortunately it was the Iron who progressed - winning 3-0 - to end the five match unbeaten run Ian Hendon’s men had enjoyed of late.
After beating York City 3-2 on November 21, the O’s have drawn with Plymouth Argyle, AFC Wimbledon, Scunthorpe and now Mansfield last weekend.
It has seen them fall out of the play-off positions in League Two, but James is confident they can get more wins in the division soon.
This Saturday, Yeovil Town, who are in the relegation zone, make the journey to Brisbane Road.
Despite their position in the standings, they beat Stevenage earlier this month and drew with Barnet last weekend so can’t be underestimated by Orient.
After facing the Glovers, the O’s host Portsmouth on Boxing Day, before travelling to Bristol Rovers on December 28 – two tough looking fixtures.
But James is confident come the end of the festive period, they will be in a good position.
“We don’t want to be losing away games, if we can get a point on the road it is important,” said the Orient midfielder after the draw last Saturday.
“There is a long way to go, we have a busy Christmas period and I am sure come the end of it, we will hopefully have a few more wins under our belt and then we’ll go from there.”
If Orient are to chalk up a few more victories in the league you would imagine Jay Simpson will play a vital role.
He scored his 16th goal of the season at Mansfield, heading in after some classy play on the wing by Jobi McAnuff.
That goal came after Simpson had won the Sky Bet League Two player of the month award. The former Arsenal youngster scored four times during November to pick up the accolade on Friday.
His team-mate James praised the forward, but revealed he was keen not to jinx Simpson, adding: “Jay’s on fire and long may that continue. It was a great finish and a great ball from Jobi as well.
“It was good for him to get another goal. I don’t really want to jinx him at the minute. He got rid of the player of the month curse, so it’s all good and hopefully he can continue that.”
The form of Simpson has been a massive positive for Orient this season and they’ll be desperate for him to keep going.
Clubs will inevitably look at tempting the forward away from Brisbane Road in January, but it appears he is settled at E10.
His son is at a local school and it is felt Simpson doesn’t want to disrupt him, but teams will no doubt try to sign the striker.
After struggling with injuries last season, this campaign has been the best of his career as he has terrorised League Two defenders from the opening day.
Orient will desperately want that to carry on now until May.
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