Steve Davis: George Elokobi will be massive signing for Leyton Orient
New Leyton Orient signing George Elokobi (right) in action for Wolverhampton Wanderers (pic: Andrew Milligan/PA) - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
Experienced manager delighted to have ex-Colchester United centre back at Brisbane Road
Leyton Orient head coach Steve Davis is confident George Elokobi will be a massive signing for the Brisbane Road club.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender is set to make his debut for O’s in this weekend’s friendly at Greenwich Borough.
Elokobi joined Orient last Friday on a free transfer from Colchester United, but missed the games with Harlow Town and Burnham Ramblers to work on his fitness.
“George is a very big signing isn’t he,” joked Davis. “I think his arms are bigger than my quads, but he is what we need.
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“We need a leader and someone who has played in the division and knows it and he has played in the Premier League, so he has played with the best in the country.
“He knows the game and will help people around him and he is a great character. All of the senior players we have got are great characters and that is very important for me.
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“We wanted to get people in that wanted to be at the football club and all of the lads here are like that.”
Since Elokobi completed his switch to Brisbane Road on July 14, O’s have signed Macauley Bonne, Craig Clay and Jobi McAnuff.
But Davis is still keen to bring more players into the club before the National League opener on August 5.
Elokobi is yet to feature in a pre-season game for Orient, though the ex-Crewe Alexandra boss is confident the centre back will be ready to face Sutton United.
“We have got three weeks to get George fit and involved in the team, but at centre back we can probably get away with it,” said Davis.
“I think for me the positions we need people working the hardest are full-backs and wingers and the strikers I guess.
“If we bring in any forwards it will be difficult to get them up to speed, but centre back is not too bad really.”
The Orient head coach would have preferred for his squad to be complete by now, though is keen to make sure that is not used as an excuse.
With McAnuff completing a transfer to O’s this morning, the club are only likely to make two more signings before facing Sutton.
Davis added: “Ideally I would have liked to come back earlier and I would have liked the squad to have been in place, so that is not ideal, but we can’t use that as an excuse.
“We need to be ready to go. It is nice to have the Sutton game on television and it will probably give it a bit more spark.”
Orient continue their pre-season campaign with a trip to face Gary Alexander’s Greenwich on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
