Draws were disapointing but Sandy cleaned up at cards

8:38am Thursday 3rd January 2008

WE were a little disappointed to only come away with a couple of draws from our games with Hartlepool and Gillingham.

On paper, a draw at Hartlepool is probably a good result, but having got our noses in front we were looking to go on and win the game.

Then against Gillingham on Tuesday we were left frustrated that we couldn't break them down. We knew they would come and make life hard and get in our faces, although we still carved out some good chances that had one gone in would have won the game.

At the moment though, we are going through a little spell where we are finding it hard to score, which when you consider how solid we are looking again at the back is very frustrating.

We certainly need to start putting that right and we've also got to start winning a lot more games at home in the second half of the season if we want to make the play-off places. Hopefully we will put that right against Tranmere on Tuesday, and maybe a little break this weekend will stand us in good stead. They have however had a reasonable start to the season and sit just below us in the table. Again they will come and make it hard for us to play our normal game, but it is down to us to break them down.

Lastly I have got to give masseur Sandy Risley a special mention this week for being a right old bandit at cards, so that he could probably go out and get himself some new gear in the January sales. On the way back from Hartlepool he sat in on the card school despite claiming he had never played Crash, which is what we were playing at the time.

Yet he cleaned up and then didn't turn up on Tuesday claiming he was ill, but given he only wears his Orient tracksuit all the time, perhaps he was looking to pick up few bargains to smarten up his act.