Orient boss looking for another win

Orient manager Russell Slade wants his side to complete a perfect opening week to the new season with victory over Shrewsbury on Saturday.

O’s began the 2013-14 League One campaign with a stunning 5-1 win at Carlisle at the weekend, then snatched a last-minute 3-2 victory over Coventry in the Capital One Cup at Brisbane Road on Tuesday.

And Slade is hoping his players can maintain that momentum back on home turf this weekend.

He said: “We’ve entertained and we’ve scored goals. We can’t do any more can we?

“I would take being knocked out of the cup – I want to win everything, don’t get me wrong – for a result on Saturday to give us six points from two games. That would be terrific.

“But we won the cup (match), can we back that up with six points and being through to the next round of the cup? That would complete a great week for us.”

Having just come up short of the play-off places last season, O’s certainly appear to have hit the ground running.

And Slade believes his squad’s tight-knit character is one of the main reasons behind their excellent start this term.

He added: “Because we’ve had roughly the same group it’s about momentum. We’ve carried on that momentum from last season.

“From Christmas onwards we’ve been quite a solid side and our results would read quite well and our form would read quite well. It’s a case of continuing that momentum really.”

Slade hopes to have captain Nathan Clarke, who suffered a head injury at Carlisle, Shaun Batt and Marvin Bartley available at the weekend having missed the midweek action.

But he is realistic enough to know that, despite successive victories this week, his men will have to continue to work hard for every point and he would like to add to his squad if possible.

He added: “If I can squeeze the chairman maybe for one more, that might help.

“I want a bit more competition for places and the three who were missing (against Coventry) would’ve given us a big boost in terms of our squad. To get them back will be very important for us, but the signs are encouraging.

“All games aren’t going to go to plan and sometimes we’re going to be up against it and things are going to go wrong but it’s important to respond.

“The league is totally the priority and Shrewsbury aren’t going to lie down. It’s another tough game.

“They will be fighting for every point. I know Graham Turner, he fights for everything. There are no easy games. We’re Leyton Orient, they’re all going to be tough.”