Leon McSweeney on the Port Vale game
Leon McSweeney spoke to us following the disappointing home defeat against Port Vale at the weekend.
"That's the type of thing that happens when you're down at the bottom of the league," he said. "We switched off for 30 seconds and the next thing we knew we were walking off the pitch after a good performance with nothing to show for it.
"I thought we were the better team in the first half but we couldn't get a goal. Then Troy [Archibald-Henville] had his chance too, I know it's a cliché but that's just football. We had a lot of chances that would have gone in on another day but that's just the way it's going at the moment. Troy's chance at the end probably sums it up.
"In my first season at Leyton Orient we didn't win in our first ten games but we were twelfth in the league by January. I think everyone needs to have a bit more perspective because it's a long season and there's still plenty of time for us to get ourselves up the table.
"Even though it's a big blow when you lose a game like we did it is important that we don't let it affect us too much. The lads have put in some decent performances over the last couple of weeks and we're all confident that we can start picking up some good results."
"We need to dust ourselves down and concentrate on the positives," he insisted. "We'll work hard on the training pitch this week to make sure we can get the result on Saturday.
"There's plenty of characters in the dressing room that will make sure the lads are up for the game. Even if a goal goes in off somebody's backside, once we get that first win I'm sure everything will turn around very quickly."
"I really enjoyed being involved on a Saturday again," he admitted. "I was chomping at the bit to get out there and I'm just gutted we couldn't hang on for the clean sheet.
"There were three of us in defence that are new to the club but I think you could see that we can be a strong unit. I think we looked comfortable during a lot of the game. I'm sure my match sharpness will come the more I'm involved and I just want to help the club get going again.
"It's good for us that we've got another home game to put it right. We probably would have been pleased if it was Tuesday night, but it gives us a week to work on our shape and things like that. That will give the new lads a chance to bed in even further, which can only be a good thing.
"It will be important for us as the senior players in the dressing room to pick the lads up, but sometimes the obliviousness of the young players can be a good thing. They just want to play football and the results sometimes don't affect them as much. On the other hand, you can get young lads who really take the results to heart and it's up to us as a squad to make sure we put our arm around them and help them through.
"We're all pulling together to make sure we do everything we can to get the result we want on Saturday."
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