O’s manager insists the president should be most disappointed with current situation
Leyton Orient boss Fabio Liverani believes club president Francesco Becchetti should be the person most disappointed with O’s predicament after their survival hopes were dealt a massive blow with a 1-0 defeat at Rochdale.
Ian Henderson’s 66th-minute strike was enough for the hosts at Spotland on Tuesday and it might have been more had Alex Cisak not been in top form for the Brisbane Road club.
The defeat keeps Orient in the bottom four and they trail Crewe, in 20th, by two points ahead of Saturday’s clash at home with Sheffield United.
If results don’t go O’s way their relegation to League Two could be confirmed this weekend, and Liverani concedes it is a sorry situation for everyone involved.
“I have to say the president is putting a lot of money into the club and is definitely the person that should be more disappointed than anyone else because he is funding Leyton Orient,” he said.
“He is receiving much less joy and much more disappointment than he was expecting, but we have two games to go.”
The defeat at Rochdale was O’s third in a row, but Liverani felt they matched the hosts in the first 45 half and could have been ahead.
He was extremely disappointed with their reaction to the goal, though, and felt that was key.
“First half we played a decent game and we had a very good chance to score, but unfortunately we didn’t take it,” added Liverani.
“In the second half I believe it was quite balanced and an even game until Rochdale’s goal.
“After that we were down, we lost our confidence and the mind to play a proper game in the end. The second half has to be split into before and after the goal.
“We didn’t concede chances to them, but after the goal we lost our confidence, composure and shape on the pitch.”
Orient ended the match with strikers Chris Dagnall, David Mooney and Jay Simpson all on the field, but couldn’t fashion any decent opportunities to get level.
Liverani acknowledged after the game that Dagnall, O’s leading goalscorer, is tired, but admitted he is relying on the 29-year-old to rediscover his scoring boots.
The Brisbane Road boss also paid tribute to Cisak following the defeat, admitting the on-loan Burnley goalkeeper had been in excellent form at Spotland.
“Dagnall is tired because he plays every game, but he is also a player that is keeping us up with his goals and his performances so he is an important player,” Liverani added.
“Also, congratulations to Cisak because he kept us in the game after their goal.”
When O’s earned an excellent 1-0 win at Coventry on April 1 it seemed they could avoid the drop.
However they have failed to win since and tickets for Saturday’s massive clash with Sheffield United are now half price.
The equation for Orient is simple, Liverani adding: “We have to win both games and at the same time hope other teams don’t do better than us.”
But that doesn’t seem likely.
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