I guess it was kind of inevitable that after a very busy and hectic run of five matches in three weeks, fatigue, both physical and mental, was going to catch up with the squad and we would have to grit our way through a match. There were signs of that at Bristol Rovers on New Years Day, but the way we dug in and got a result against a dogged and determined Shrewsbury Town last Saturday, should provide another element of encouragement for our squad. What is it they say about not being at your best and still finding a way to win?

The win over the Shrews made it 15 points from a possible 15 since being held to a draw at home by Burton, and while it didn’t move us any further up the table, it did cement our position in the top 10 a little bit more.

As we said last week (Orient Nerd Weekly Ramblings- A month is a long time football.) it has been a very successful few weeks for the O’s, the one negative being that on Saturday we lost another key member of the squad to injury when Ollie O’Neill had to leave the field to be replaced by Diallang Jaiyesimi after just half an hour. That combined with Dan Agyei’s injury at Bristol means that we are pretty much down to the bare bones from an attacking perspective.

Add those two to concerns over Dom Ball and Dan Happe, Tom James currently being out injured, and the long-term absences of Jordan Graham and Theo Archibald, and it really does feel as if we need to strengthen, especially at the top end of the pitch, during the current transfer window. Thinking back to last season, it was when injuries started to bite and impact the team that our form tailed off to a degree and we ended up having to settle for an albeit very acceptable 11^th place finish.

As good as our current run of form has been, and with no disrespect whatsoever to the sides we have played, in the next few weeks we are due to face the likes of a strangely off-form Peterborough, Reading, Exeter, Stockport, Wrexham and surprise package Mansfield. After that looming on the horizon are Bolton and Birmingham away, while we should in no way fear those teams, we have to be honest and say they do present bigger challenges than we have faced over recent weeks. A fully functioning and firing squad is going to be critical if we are going to carry on the momentum that we have generated.

Of course it is all too easy to say we need to go out and sign three new forwards of proven quality. I am sure that Richie and Martin Ling have identified potential targets but getting the deals done is never as easy as we might hope. In his post-match interview on Saturday the gaffer remained somewhat coy suggesting “it’s not about money, it’s about finding the right people that can come into the group and improve us”, although he did confirm that all of: Jack Currie, Josh Keeley, Jamie Donley, Sonny Perkins and Charlie Kelman are very likely to stay with us for the rest of the season.

This week is a slightly different one for the O’s with two cup matches in the space of four days before we head off to Peterborough. In many ways this Saturday’s FA Cup tie is a difficult one to call. On the one hand Derby spanked us 3-0 both times we faced them last season, and with Richie already suggesting that we will likely make 5 or 6, maybe more, changes it looks like a tough assignment.

On the other, Derby have struggled for the most part in the second tier so far this season and currently sit just 4 points above the drop zone having won just 3 of their last 17 matches. Might the Rams see their priorities as being focused on avoiding an immediate return to League 1 over an extended cup run?

As we all know it has been 14 long years since the O’s last featured in the fourth round of the FA Cup, might getting through this one provide an ideal opportunity to put that to rest and for us to draw one of the Premier League big guns again? Now that we have stabilised our position in the top half of the table, a cup run would be magical.  

On Tuesday night we host familiar opposition in the form of Stevenage in the EFL Trophy. While I know that many Orient fans are quite rightly against this competition in its current unwelcome format, a win would leave us just two rounds away from a potential day out at Wembley. Equally progression in both cup competitions could provide a welcome boost to the coffers and might even help us to be a little bit more ambitious in our transfer dealings.

Despite tomorrow’s ridiculous kick-off time it looks like we are heading for another sell out, here’s hoping for a dash more magic of the cup, just as we had in that absolute bonkers game against Oldham back at the end of November.

Before signing off for this week I wanted to congratulate Richie Wellens for more than deservedly being awarded League One Manager of the Month for December, congratulations gaffer! Omar Beckles was nominated for player of the month but missed out to Miles Leaburn of Charlton. Leaburn must have had one hell of an end to month because he looked very ordinary to me when we knocked them out of the EFL Trophy!

Omar and Josh Keeley have also been nominated for the PFA League One Fans Player of the Month award so congratulations to both of them, I suspect I know where my vote is going for that one!

Up The O’s!