Chris Dagnall’s debut double fired Leyton Orient to the top of League One – and his new manager reckons he’s going to be a ‘great acquisition.’

The former Barnsley man only put pen to paper on an 18-month contract on Thursday but came off the bench to turn a losing position at Crewe Alexandra into a 2-1 victory.

Midfielder Romain Vincelot also came on as a substitute and the O’s squad is now complete barring injuries according to Russell Slade.

“He was inspired. That’s what Chris Dagnall is all about,” he said.

“He’s lively, gets in behind people and can link the play as well. He’s going to be a great acquisition.”

Alex captain Byron Moore tapped in to give the hosts the lead just after half-time

But the Dagnall took centre stage. The 27-year-old latched onto a long pass from Dean Cox before firing across goal into the corner just prior to the hour mark.

And seven minutes later he was quickest to Mathieu Baudry’s knockdown to sweep in the crucial winner.

The striker says it’s been a whirlwind few days since arriving in London on Wednesday but he’s just happy to be playing first team football again after a frustrating season at Oakwell.

Dagnall said: “You don’t get many better debuts than that do you? Two goals and three points.

“It’s nice to be back involved. It’s a great feeling to be back on the pitch and scoring goals.

“But the team can’t half defend. I’ve never seen anything like that in the last 10 minutes with the blocks flying in.”

Orient’s next match is not until Tuesday, January 28 when Coventry City visit Brisbane Road.

The break could give the two first team players currently injured, top scorer David Mooney and Marvin Bartley, the opportunity to recover.

Slade is satisfied with the state of his squad and praised the character of his players in difficult conditions.

“It was a hard-earned performance in terms of getting a result,” the manager said.

“I thought Crewe were excellent and put us under a lot of pressure, especially late on.

“We had to come from behind yet again.

“The away fans were fantastic, I could hear them all afternoon.”