Leyton Orient head coach Ross Embleton wants to feel the excitement from the fans as they return for League Two action when they face leaders Newport County this weekend.
The O’s will welcome The Exiles to the Breyer Group Stadium on Saturday when they’re set to welcome 2,000 back into the ground after a successful test event with 1,000 supporters as they crashed out of the EFL Trophy with a 2-1 loss to Bristol Rovers in mid-week.
The boss was delighted to see fans return and believes they can now use it to their advantage to continue building on strong home form this campaign.
“What I would like to say is that I could feel the appreciation of everybody, the boys were happy that there were people back in the ground again, and I could feel that when the game kicked off people were trying to make a noise,” Embleton said.
“Really disappointed we didn’t send everyone away with a positive result. I went to the Cambridge game last week and there was 2,000 there so I can’t wait for us to have 2,000.
“I really want us to make this tough for clubs to come here and opposition managers keep saying to me the northern clubs especially won’t have fans to we want to us that to our advantage.
“We’ve had good home form since my position was made permanent last year so let’s continue to build on that and do that together.”
He added: “As a group of players and staff we have to energise our crowd, but at the same time, I really want to feel that excitement of people coming back.”
Leyton Orient and Newport were two of the clubs that Justin Edinburgh managed in his successful career and there is a strong connection between the clubs for that reason.
Boss Embleton also shares a strong bond with Michael Flynn in the opposite dug-out as they shared the same heartbreak when Edinburgh sadly passed away.
“Of course, that will always be the case, I've got a lot of time for Flynny. He felt the loss of Justin in a very simple way to myself as he worked with him.
“Him and Wayne Hatswell are really good people, I'm pleased to see the start of the season they’ve got off to, but I'd really like to beat them at the same time.
“Flynny was great with me when Justin passed, he was on the phone lots offering his support, so I'll always have time for him for that.”
Embleton faces a selection headache going into the match after handing opportunities to plenty of players against Bristol Rovers – one in particular is creative midfielder Jordan Maguire-Drew who missed on being in the squad altogether for the trip to Scunthorpe United on the weekend.
“I thought he was excellent first-half, we had to move him when Jamie Turley got sent off, so it was frustrating for Jordan as he didn’t get the opportunity to build on that really positive first-half that he had.
“There is no point me saying great opportunity for you tonight (Tuesday) for us to build and improve as team, but also for a number of individuals to make their mark, and a number of individuals including Jordan Maguire-Drew certainly made their mark this evening.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here