Leyton Orient head coach Justin Edinburgh hailed the impact of Craig Clay and Dan Happe following their respective performances against Boreham Wood on Saturday.

Clay put in a combative display in midfield against the Wood at the weekend, but has been a player who has divided opinion among the Orient fan base since he moved to the Breyer Group Stadium from Motherwell last summer.

He played an important role in the O’s opening day draw with Salford City, as it was his effort which was deflected into the back of the net by Liam Hogan to secure Orient a point.

Clay has been a fixture in the side since the start of the campaign, playing the full 90 minutes in each of Orient’s games so far, and head coach Edinburgh says the midfielder is the first name on his team sheet on match-day.

The O’s head coach said: “For me, Craig Clay is the first player on my team sheet week-in, week-out. Unless you work with Craig or play with Craig then every player would say the same.

“He’s made for this league. He understands it and I thought it was his best game in possession of the ball today. If he was the complete player, would he be here? Probably not. For me, Craig has been fantastic and is the first name on my team sheet.”

Happe, meanwhile, has had to bide his time during the opening weeks of the campaign, but his patience was rewarded on Saturday when he made his first appearance of the season after replacing Josh Coulson early in the second half.

The centre-back won Orient’s Young-Player-of-the-Season award back in May after an impressive year for the O’s, but was left out of the squad earlier this month due to the form of Coulson, George Elokobi and Marvin Ekpiteta.

But the 19-year-old slotted seamlessly into Orient’s back four on Saturday and proved himself to be a threat from set-pieces, almost latching onto Jobi McAnuff’s corners at the far post on two occasions.

Head coach Edinburgh praised Happe’s maturity and also believes the O’s substitutes will play a crucial role for the team over the campaign.

“I’m pleased for Dan because out of the fit ones in the squad, he’s the one who has had no minutes on the pitch,” Edinburgh said.

“As I said to the players when we started the season, the players that come on are the game changers for me. They don’t feel sorry for themselves and have an impact. Of all the substitutions we’ve made this season that’s certainly been the case.”