League One: Rochdale v Leyton Orient Saturday 3pm

Midfielder Marc Laird is hoping he will be able to hang on to his place when Orient travel to Rochdale on Saturday.

He came on as a half-time substitute for Tom Clarke last weekend when Orient drew 1-1 with Sheffield Orient and made a rare start against Yeovil on Tuesday night.

Laird has struggled to command a regular place since his arrival from Millwall in the summer and admitted: “It’s been really frustrating for me, to be honest, I came from Millwall and want to play games.

“All I can do is work hard in training and hopefully get a chance and hopefully get some form, as it’s sometimes difficult when you come into a team and you are not getting a run of games.

“But hopefully I can use this as a stepping stone. The bee-all and end-all is to be playing football and that’s why came here.

“I’ll keep working hard listen to the manager and hopefully it will help me cement a place in the team, because this is a fantastic club.”

Laird will face stiff competition for a starting place, as Jimmy Smith is fit again after a thigh injury, while on-loan Spurs goalkeeper Ben Alnwick has recovered from a groin problem and could start at Spotland.

The problem area for manager Russell Slade is left-back as Charlie Daniels is serving a three-game ban. Mike Cestor deputised at Yeovil, but the O’s boss has other options.