O’s boss believes young players have a better chance with the O’s

Orient manager Russell Slade hopes that the club will benefit from Moses Odubajo’s stunning debut on Saturday.

The 18-year-old turned in a dream display at right-back, which was capped off with a stunning goal just before half time.

Now Slade hopes other youngsters will follow in Odubajo’s footsteps, by rejecting moves to bigger clubs and signing for Orient where they have a better opportunity of first-team football.

The O’s boss acknowleges that it can be difficult to attract youngsters to Brisbane Road, as they find themselves in competition with bigger clubs for promising young talent.

“It gets harder I think geographically for Leyton Orient to get quite the quality of player we need,” admitted Slade.

“With so much competition around we constantly lose players at 12 and 14 years of age to big clubs and it’s not easy to keep them here.

“But I think it’s a really good choice when they come to Leyton Orient, because there are simply not the blocks on.

“There’s a possibility of someone like Moses, who is still only 18, playing for the first team and the opportunity is there.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I have given umpteen debuts to young players and if they are good enough they will get the opportunity at Leyton Orient for sure,” said Slade.

Had Orient secured their League One status a little earlier the Brisbane Road faithful might have seen some of the youngsters a little earlier.

“Probably so,” admitted the Orient boss.

“It would have been nice if with six or seven games to go I could have thrown in one or two of the young lads to see what they are made of and to give them an appetite for the game.

“And maybe sometimes they get that and they have the summer off and come back a man and that’s what we’re looking for.

“Hopefully that’s given Moses the appetite to come back and think I want a bit more of this now he’s had a taste.

“It’s like having your first Jack Daniels – you get a taste for it.”