Leyton Orient’s 12 match unbeaten league run has sparked talk of promotion, with manager Russell Slade saying that it would be “the greatest achievement in the club’s history”.
“I really don’t know where this run is going to take us,” he said. “We’ve probably got to win 10 of our remaining games. That would give us 80 points overall and get us in the play-offs.”
The O’s extended their incredible undefeated run after Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Walsall and are now seventh in League One, eight points behind MK Dons but with four games in hand.“It’s an incredible ask to win 10 games when we have only won 13 all season,” said Slade.
“We just need to keep the momentum going: if we start thinking about what we might be able to achieve and how we are going to do it, all will fall apart. We just need to keep concentrating on the next game and showing respect to the opposition.”
The Orient boss admitted that promotion to the Championship would be his greatest achievement as a manager.
“It would be just fantastic, it really would,” he said. “To get into the Championship would be an incredible feat.”
But despite their unbeaten run showing no signs of coming to an end, Slade reiterated his belief that the club’s main priority was staying safe.
“We’ve not even really talked about promotion, to be honest. We’re nearly safe and that’s our main goal.”
“Our next objective is obviously to finish as high as we possibly can and we’ll push on for a top 6 slot if we have enough games left.”
Pundits have lauded recent Orient displays, however Slade reacted modestly to suggestions that the club are in pole position to extend the run.
“We can’t keep winning, inevitably you will lose games and when we do it is going to be a question of how we bounce back.”
In spite a number of changes to the playing staff over the summer and an inconsistent start to the season, Orient’s squad has progressively gelled and Slade is not afriad to heap praise on his players, saying: “I said to the fans initially that they might have to be a little bit patient; that the team would improve, and I think they’re showing that now. They’re a great bunch to work with and have got great attitudes and focus.”
“We know our strengths and weaknesses a lot more and our style of football has evolved as the season has gone on. There’s no magic potion or anything special like that, we just got better, it’s as simple as that.”
