Leyton Orient captain Stephen Purches
Orient captain Stephen Purches says his team must “hold their nerve” in their away match against Brentford in the London derby on Saturday.
Both teams are hovering perilously close to the League One relegation zone, with Brentford in 16th place on 43 points and Orient one place below on 41 points.
“At this point in the season all the games are crunch matches,” Purches said. “From now until the end of the season it’s about who can hold their nerve and reach the target.
“Relegation’s going to be in the back of your mind but you don’t want to be involved in that. It’s there and we’re not far away from it but at the moment we’re in a situation where we’re not in it. The quicker you get the points, the better you feel and that’s our aim – we want to get up as high as we can in the table.”
The pressure will be intensified on Saturday by the two teams’ local rivalry, something Purches tried to play down, saying “three points are three points”.
However, he was quick to add that London derbies are always special.
“There will definitely be a good atmosphere,” he said. “I’m looking forward to taking part in that.
“Three points makes people’s weekends. It’s a big thing for the club and the fans.”
The O’s skipper is only 50 per cent sure that he will be fit enough to play at the weekend as he is still recovering from the calf injury he sustained against Walsall last week.
“I’ve done some running and jogging, hopefully I’ll be able to take part in training later in the week. I’ll keep my fingers crossed; it’s a game I want to play in,” he said.
The London side sorely missed Purches last weekend in their 2-0 defeat to Huddersfield, with manager Geraint Williams lambasting the defence as “a shambles”. Purches said the side needed to improve.
“We need to impose ourselves a little bit more on the game. Huddersfield imposed their game on us; we found it difficult to get out of our half. We need to get the ball out wide like we have been doing and get balls and crosses in the box.”
Purches also hailed the news that French striker Jonathan Tehoue had committed his long-term future to the club.
“He’s come on and made an impact. He’s proved his loyalty to the club. He’s a big presence; hopefully he will be able to get a couple more goals before the end of the season.”
