The O’s have the opportunity to secure a league and cup double this season as they lead the National League and are a game away from the FA Trophy Final.
After a two-year stint in the National League, nine league games remain for the club to secure a return to the Football League:
“We’ve got a great opportunity to achieve our main goal this year,” says Orient captain Jobi McAnuff. ” From our point of view, it would be great to do it by winning the league, we’re fully confident.
“It will come down to this game around teams around us. At this stage of the season, to lose ground to one of your closest rivals is something you don’t want to do. I fancy us to take care of business.”
Taking Chances
McAnuff boasts experience, having played in all five of England’s top leagues; the 37-year- revealed manager Justin Edinburgh’s message to the team, with the ex-Spurs defender asserting these opportunities are few and far between:
“He’s a real driving force behind everything that goes on. He’s been reinforcing these opportunities don’t come around very often.
“To be part of a season like this where you can achieve something great; what that does is later on in life you’ve got that bond with people. You were together for that period of time where you did achieve.”
Second Leg
A second-half strike from Macauley Bonne sees the O’s take a 1-0 advantage into their FA Trophy second leg against The Bucks, with just a draw needed to progress to the final. With a slender lead intact, McAnuff is confident of getting the job done:
“Two-legged games are quite unusual. They require a slightly different mindset. You don’t want to go in chasing the game in the second leg. So, it was important for us to win (the first leg), ideally, we would have liked another goal or two to make it a little more comfortable.
“We were pleased how we played overall, we approached the game with the correct mentality and it will be very much the same next week.”
Welcome Return
Josh Koroma made his long-awaited return last weekend, after a spell on the sideline with a hamstring problem. His return is a massive boost considering Jordan Maguire-Drew is likely to miss the next few weeks with a calf problem.
Koroma is part of a core group of players from the academy, including the likes of Sam Ling and Dan Happe, with the latter making his debut for England C on Tuesday night.
Jay Simpson may return having been replaced midway through the second-half of the Wrexham tie with a tight hamstring.
The second-leg is this Saturday 23rd March with kick-off scheduled for 3:00pm at the New Bucks Head Stadium, with the winner set to face either AFC Fylde or Stockport County in the final.
Extended Interview
You can check out the full interview with Jobi McAnuff here:
