Last night’s victory over Portsmouth completed consecutive home games against the trio of teams from the south of England.

All three have more in common than just their proximity to the English Channel, with each getting used to having their finances subjected to extra scrutiny over the last few seasons.

We’d already had the visits of the ‘new money’. Crawley have cemented their place in League One by supplementing their squad with a number of well-paid journeymen and under-achievers.

Bournemouth on the other hand have higher ambitions, laying out big transfer fees on players they think can take them up, laying off backroom staff at the same time.

Many expect that both clubs' thirst for instant success is unsustainable and sooner or later they will crash and burn as quickly as they rose.

Portsmouth are of course the highest profile example of what does happen when the ownership of a club is muddied and the finances are allowed to run out of control.

O's fans took a lot of pleasure putting one over on Bournemouth and sending their bandwagon back to the South Coast pointless. But whilst the victory against Pompey was celebrated, it came with a healthy dose of respect for the 1133 travelling fans who didn’t stop singing all night.

They’ve seen the glory hunters disappear with the bandwagon over the edge of a financial cliff but they are still there, as they were before Harry Redknapp, Kanu and the FA Cup Final, supporting their side even as they face relegation to the bottom tier.

There is no pleasure in gloating over this hardcore band of fans who have seen their club soar and then crash over the last five years, teetering on the edge of extinction.

With Orient probably just outside the play-off hunt there is a certain complacency about another mid-table finish in their seventh consecutive season in League One. There has been one serious assault on the top six in that time and a few people think that the club should show a bit more ambition to make a serious promotion bid.

However, there is a lot to be said for the stable serenity of mid-table as other clubs fly up and down around us, the cost of reaching the brink of success being administration and the threat of liquidation.

Keeping both feet on the ground may seem boring at times but it makes it less likely that someone will pull the rug out from beneath you.