Last Saturday’s Carlisle win served to prove that a week is indeed a long time in football.

Only the previous weekend many an O’s fan must have been musing over that Yeovil FA Cup ‘shocker’ and just where the season could be going with two tough fixtures in the space of seven days just around the corner.

However once again Mr Slade and his troops have confounded their detractors by turning out not only two wins, but a couple of impressive performances - two clean sheets - and half a dozen goals into the bargain to boost our goal difference.

You must remember – though – the overall form is still good – despite seemingly hitting the proverbial buffers before the Xmas ‘break’. I say ‘break’ because it has been anything but that.

Fortunately, for our arguably ‘tired’ players, the New Year’s Day Bristol City postponement could well prove to be another blessing in disguise, just as I alluded in my last notes regarding the cup exit.

I just think it’s ridiculous we could have been facing seven games in 21 days had the City clash taken place.

So, this is a gripe to the people at the Football League: we’ve got a small squad that has been decimated with injuries and you give the whole Football League a ridiculous programme of festive fixtures. After all, what was the thinking process behind giving us all Sunday fixtures post-Xmas?

Travel is notoriously tortuous on a Sunday at the best of times. But 29th December? After all, Yeovil had to go to Huddersfield and Southend to Accrington – nice, ‘local’ games! Even Wolves away for us was hardly a ‘derby’?

Why couldn’t another set of fixtures have been factored into the calendar in February or even I dare say April when the nights are lighter and you may well attract a decent crowd if the opposition is local?

But that is all in the past. The O’s have survived. Their position in the automatic promotion frame is still intact although the annoying form of Wolves keeps them on our toes. They go and lose at Gillingham recently, but somehow turn over a Preston side many considered were a good bet for a return to the Championship – coupled with the fact they beat us.

Whether Orient can continue to punch above their weight remains to be seen as lowly Crewe, this Saturday, will be another stringent test.

Who though would bet against us registering our third consecutive double of a largely ‘stellar’ season so far?

Keep the faith,

Up the O’s.