Spring targets four more points for safety

Skipper Matt Spring believes Orient’s battle to beat the drop will go right down to the wire.

The O’s have lost their last four games and face a tough trip to second-placed Sheffield United on Saturday, but have a four-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.

Skipper Spring refuses to set any points target from the final four matches and said: “We just want to win as many as we can.”

The veteran midfielder believes that one more victory and a draw will be enough to preserve Orient’s League One status.

“I think four points should keep us safe, but we have got Rochdale here last game and we could need to win that,” he said.

“It’s going to go to the wire I think, we have just got to get some points on the board, even draws.

“If we can’t win we’ve got to try not to lose, but at the moment we’re not even doing that.”

However, the O’s will not want to go into the last day of the season still needing points for survival – even if it is against Rochdale, who are likely to be relegated by then.

O’s have won just five of their 21 home games this season and have lost 11 times – more than any other side in the division.

After Saturday’s tough trip, the O’s finish with home games against Yeovil and Rochdale, with a journey to Hartlepool sandwiched in between and Spring admitted: “I’m hoping that Wycombe will run out of games and we will be all right. We have just got to stick together.

“We have got some winnable games coming up.”

Dogged by injuries all season, O’s have struggled to find any consistency and Spring admits it would help if Orient could play with a settled side.

“It hasn’t happened all season. I don’t think our back four has played together for more than three games,” he said.

“Players come in because of injuries and the system changes.

“We have changed around a few times and if we could stick to one system and get that system to work, but at the moment we can’t seem to find a system that’s working.

“It’s a tough job for the gaffer finding the personnel to go into those positions.

“It’s just finding something that works for us and at the moment we haven’t found it and we are running out of games.

“Hopefully we will be all right.”