Leyton Orient passed their FA Cup first round test against Staines Town with flying colours, recording an emphatic 6-1 win.

The O’s were obviously favourites to progress to the second round but the magic of the FA Cup means upsets happen. Ian Hendon and his side still deserve credit for a professional performance and a healthy margin of victory.

Any doubts about Orient’s progress to the next round were quickly dispelled. The O’s started out with pace and purpose, overwhelming Staines in the early stages to go three goals up inside 13 minutes.

Dean Cox then rifled in another stunning free-kick before John Marquis and Sean Clohessy got in on the act in the latter stages.

However, the performance wasn’t perfect and the O’s still didn’t look entirely convincing at the back. A clean sheet was a realistic target, but it was thrown away by a couple of errors.

It would be against the spirit of the competition if I failed to mention Staines Town. Though the tie quickly got away from them, Nicky Forster’s side continued to battle on. The away fans offered vocal support throughout, especially when Darren Purse scored against his former side. Orient fans generously applauded the goal too.

Given Orient’s struggle for form recently, the win was important; anything less would have further increased the pressure on the team.

The comfortable victory will have boosted confidence and it could potentially help the O’s build some momentum in the league again. Victories breed a positive mentality irrespective of the quality of the opposition and we saw at the start of the season that winning can quickly become a habit.

The win over Staines will also have helped a few individuals. Dean Cox has been out of the team recently but he marked his return to the starting line-up with two good goals.

Ollie Palmer had gone 14 appearances without scoring, so his brace will have been welcome. Similarly, it was good to see Marquis and Clohessy open their goalscoring accounts for the club.

Frazer Shaw also needed a good performance. He hadn’t played a first team game since September, but the left-back had a very good afternoon both defensively and going forward, as he assisted Orient’s first two goals.

It was also important for Alan Dunne to settle into the starting line-up after a rocky start to his Orient career.

This cup tie provided a good opportunity for Dunne and Mathieu Baudry to begin to forge a partnership, which could be crucial now Connor Essam is injured.

Without getting too carried away, if Orient can navigate a tricky tie against Scunthorpe and go even further it could help Orient’s league form.

Last time Orient won promotion from the fourth tier, they reached the fourth round of the FA Cup. The team spirit in Martin Ling’s promotion-winning squad was clear to see in the celebrations that followed their victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Russell Slade’s team of 2010/11 showed that cup and league form can go hand in hand. In the 22 games from the first round of the FA Cup until their fifth round exit, the O’s lost just once.

If Hendon can foster a similar spirit it should go a long way in helping the O’s achieve their goal of promotion this term.

The semi-final heroes of 1977/78 are still fondly remembered and an FA Cup run could also help Hendon win over some of his critics.

The Orient manager divides opinion; however a long stay in the competition could really help convince fans. After all, who doesn’t love a cup run?

The size of the squad is still a concern though. The O’s are short of numbers in most areas and it is difficult to see the current squad being able to cope with league and cup commitments as the schedule becomes more demanding.

Orient could only name six substitutes on Saturday due to injuries and suspensions. However, Hendon has said that he is hoping to recruit a couple more players to ease the strain, so hopefully this will become less of an issue.

While I feel winning in the cup could be beneficial, promotion remains the top priority. Orient must take the positives from the win over Staines and build upon them by stringing together some victories in League Two.

If they manage to do so they could well return to the heights that they reached at the start of the season.