Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens has issued supporters with who to expect to start tonight’s final Bristol Street Motors Trophy tie, as The O’s make the short trip to play Mk Dons.
The O’s know that it will be tough to progress to the knockout stages of the tournament this evening having only picked up two points in the competition so far, but victory by a two goal margin will definitely see Wellens’ side go through.
Speaking to club media via Youtube, the former Swindon Town manager highlighted the importance of taking tonight’s game seriously, as it offers a chance of a genuine chance of getting to Wembley:
“It can be a special occasion for the players, we ain’t going to get to Wembley in The Fa Cup final or the Carabao cup, so this is the best opportunity for players at league one and league two level to play at the best stadium in the world.”
Orient convincingly brushed Blackpool aside at the weekend with a 3-0 win in front of a packed Brisbane Road, and after tonight they will not have another game till they face Stevenage in two weeks time, with Saturday’s scheduled visit of Mansfield Town postponed due to international call-ups in the Stags squad.
Wellens was keen to highlight that whilst he will be making changes to the side that won so comfortably on Saturday, the intensity and performance levels must remain high:
“ Jordan Graham will start, Jordan Brown is still ill and apart from that we have Dom Ball with a concussion and Jack Simpson is suspended in this tournament so we will probably make 4-6 changes and I think Zach Hemming has been brilliant in training so he’ll start in goal
“ I want the players that are coming in to replicate the same intensity and application that the players showed on Saturday and if we can get that running through the whole squad then it doesn’t matter what team we pick we know what we are going to get”.
Jordan Graham can be a huge boost to Orient if they can get him fit and firing after his long term knee injury sustained at Burton Albion last year, a player with real quality and one of the best crossers of the ball in League One.
Writer’s View
It’s been a while since Leyton Orient had a proper cup run in this competition, and it’s important that Richie Wellens recognises the EFL Trophy as an opportunity to put together a memorable cup run and attempt to reach Wembley.
So expect a few changes tonight but not wholesale ones, which could potentially jeopardise qualification for the knockout stages, with The O’s looking to beat their League Two hosts in 90 minutes by two clear goals to confirm a successful path out of the group stage.
