Russell Slade may be under pressure to keep his job as Leyton Orient manager, but defender Scott Cuthbert insists the players are to blame for the situation the O’s chief finds himself in.

The 26-year-old was part of the side which lost 2-0 to Colchester United on Saturday as the O’s wait for a home win this term continues.

And after the defeat Slade was told by sporting director Mauro Milanese that he had one game – Tuesday night’s trip to Notts County – to save his job at Brisbane Road.

But while Slade’s position is on the line, Cuthbert feels the sole responsibility for their slow start to the League One season lies in the hands of the players.

“We can make excuses all we want but it’s ourselves who we have to blame,” said Cuthbert.

“We are the ones that put on the shirts and go out there, the 11 that start and the three that come on.

“We put ourselves out there to get the three points and when it goes wrong we need to be there to hold our hands up and that’s what we are doing.”

But it appears that the manager may pay for their poor start, whether they get the result at Notts County on Tuesday night or not.

However, Cuthbert insists the team will continue to back the manager as they try and get their League One season up and running

“At the end of the day we back the manager 110 per cent and that’s the truth from everyone, from the goalkeeper to the subs, we back the manager and we’ll be doing our all every game,” he added.

“We go out there to do the manager justice. We know he works hard along with Nuge (assistant manager Kevin Nugent) and Deardo (goalkeeping coach Kevin Dearden), they all work hard behind the scenes and they have been for the last three-four seasons at this club and they have done a fantastic job.

“We can only focus on what we do on the pitch. Come Tuesday we’ll be going in there trying to get the three points against Notts County and that’s what we are focused on.”

Even the thought of owner and chairman Francesco Becchetti replacing Slade would surprise many, but Cuthbert knows the Italian holds all the power, and is within his rights to make such a call.

“The owner is the owner,” said Cuthbert. “He can make a decision when and where he sees fit, but that’s not up to the players to decide that or even discuss that.

“We’ve got to do our jobs on the pitch and as players we have got the opportunity Tuesday to turn this bad result against Colchester into a positive.”