Carl Fletcher praised the way his Leyton Orient side dug in to get a 1-1 draw against Carlisle United following long trips in their previous two games.

Orient had faced long journeys to both Grimsby Town and Plymouth Argyle in their previous two matches but started as if it was no problem at all when Josh Wright’s penalty put them ahead.

They had plenty of chances to kill the game in the first half but ended up going on to draw after Jack Iredale’s leveller, a vastly improved display from Carlisle in the second half and an increase of fatigue across the O’s side.

Speaking after the game, Fletcher said: “I knew going into today with the tough week we’ve had, with the travel and the games we’ve played, there was going to be a time when we’d hit a level in terms of fatigue and tiredness.

“The lads were great. They dug in today. In the first half I thought we were really good and really on the front foot. There was some good attacking play and we could potentially have been a couple of goals up, but that’s football and in those periods we have to grind through.

“I think we got a little more control later in the half, but I knew today there was always going to be a time when the fatigue would set it. The graft and the hunger from the guys to work hard was brilliant.”

Orient could have easily been home and dry by half time had they not been guilty of wastefulness in front of goal. However, Carlisle also put up a good fight in terms of their defending, and Fletcher felt that the narrow scoreline at the break was more down to the visitors than his side, as well as the switch in the balance of play after half-time.

He said: “Maybe [we could have tested the goalkeeper more], but there’s things to work on. Obviously there’s an opposition out there that are stopping you but it was pleasing to see some of the little things that we’ve been working on in the short space of time.

“Every game, every area you play, you’re not going to have 90 per cent possession so you’ve got to accept that there’s opposition. There’s always things to improve on. There’s things that we want and things that will come in gradually and things we want to try and change as quickly as possible. The fact that the lads took it on board is a credit to them.

“It’s looking good going forward. We’ve got a clear week next week and we’re looking forward to it.”

The game was Fletcher’s first at the Breyer Group Stadium as the new head coach having also overseen the loss to Plymouth and been in the stands at Grimsby.

Those recent result have left Orient among the mid-table pile, but the boss has not set any targets yet of where he would like to finish come the end of the season

He said: “We’re just going day by day at the minute. We’re looking to improve on a daily basis, looking to get good performances every game we play. Obviously we want to win as many as we can but you can’t control that, so if we can control how we work as units and as a team, then the results take care of themselves.”