IT has been a good week in the life of Orient captain Stephen Dawson.

“I have been getting people coming to me while I’m out walking the dog, telling me it was the best they have seen in the past three years,” he said.

Dawson gets reminded about last weekend’s heroics against Arsenal whenever he looks out of his window.

His flat at the Matchroom Stadium overlooks the pitch where the giants of the Premier League were held.

“It was a dream come true,” he told Guardian Series Sport of the 1-1 FA Cup fifth round result. “I cannot believe we got a replay at the Emirates stadium, with the chance of going to play Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals.

“I went out to get in there faces and make some tackles,” he continued.

“We had a great game plan. The gaffer told us not to chase them all over because they had so much of the ball. I was delighted to be involved.”

Keeping a level head now could be a problem amid the national adulation.

But Dawson was critical of his own performance, even though national press hailed it as the best of the night.

“I gave the ball away three times, but it’s nice to have been recognised like this. But I’m always careful to not get carried away with hype because I always want to improve.”

Thoughts of next week’s Emirates replay have been set aside for Huddersfield Town in the league on Saturday.

“There will be no talk about Arsenal. The gaffer will make sure of that,” he said.

“Huddersfield are one of the best teams in the league and their budget is more than ours.

“We lost to them in the early part of the season when things were not going our way but if we have confidence, I’m sure we will not get turned over by one of the strongest teams,” Dawson added.