Andy Hessenthaler is certain Leyton Orient need a full squad this season as second-half substitutes clawed back two goals after the O’s went down 3-2 to Fulham in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

Paul McCallum and Dean Cox combined twice to reduce the deficit and then pushed for an equaliser when they came on in the 62nd minute, after goals from Dennis Adeniran and a Cauley Woodrow double had put the Whites firmly in control.

But the O’s boss was keen to stress substitutes are there to make an impact and to change the game.

“That is what substitutes are there for – fresh legs and different ideas, different types of players – and we needed them,” he said.

“But we need a full squad, we need a squad this season. It is not going to be about 11 players, it is going to be about the squad.

“I have said that to the players, and the subs have come on and gave us that momentum and it changed the game.

“At 3-0 the game is over, but we came back and could have easily taken it to extra time.”

Orient drew 1-1 in their League Two season opener against Cheltenham Town at the weekend and will face Newport County in their first home game on Saturday.

Having conceded from a corner and a free-kick against the Championship side, Hessenthaler was more concerned they let the goals in rather than the manner in which they were scored.

He said: “You have got to realise there is an 18-year-old youngster (Aron Pollock) at the back and he hasn’t played many games.

“And he made two mistakes, one from a set play, but Aron is a fantastic kid and he will learn from that.

“We need to keep him positive, and we will, but when you are 18 you are going to make mistakes and it happened against Fulham unfortunately.

“But we think highly of young Aron. The second goal was an unbelievable strike from Woodrow, which could have been avoided as we probably could have done better in the middle of the pitch.

“It is a shame because we conceded the goals, but I thought the boys were terrific, especially after going 3-0 down.”

Hessenthaler wants the players to focus more on the positives from the match and look more at the way they got back into the game.

“To finish a game off like that is great for us,” he added.

“Hopefully the lads can take confidence from it, I was pleased with the performance at Cheltenham.

“I was disappointed we didn’t get the result, the three points, but we did well.

“And if we keep performing the way we did against Fulham, not just in the last part of the game but from the start as we put a massive effort into the game, hopefully we will can get a nice win on Saturday and kick on.”

Newport have been tipped to be in amongst a relegation battle this season but the 50-year-old O’s boss is expecting another tough game.

He said: “The onus is on us. We want to get off to a winning start at home and they will come and make it very difficult for us.

“We will have our reports on them and I think the manager has made a lot of new signings at Newport as well.