Exeter City manager Matt Taylor says his side will have to match the spirit of this weekend's opposition as they look to continue their impressive unbeaten start to the season.
The Grecians go into the game at the top of Sky Bet League Two, and the boss is aware of the character and the potential threat of Orient.
Matt explained: “They’re newly promoted so we haven’t played them for a couple seasons. (They are) a team who have been through a lot on the back such success from last season and losing their manager in such devastating circumstances. So, the character they’ve got is there for everyone to see.
“They’ll have a spirit about them that is second to none, and I'm expecting a good game of football. We’re in good form and we’re up against a team who are going to come to our place and give it everything they’ve possibly got, we’ve got to do the same and match them in all areas, and hopefully, a bit of quality in the performance will show through on the day.”
While scoring goals has not been an issue so far this season, the boss reminded that his forwards tallying a high number of goals will be pivotal to any success.
In response to being asked if he’s pleased with the wide-ranging source of goals, Matt explained: “To a certain extent. I still want my centre-forwards to score goals and attacking players to hurt the opposition at every opportunity.
“If you’re going to be close to the top of the league or competing to be at the top of the league, you need to be at the top of all the charts, goalscoring especially. So hopefully the goals keep on coming, it’s great we’re sharing them around as it’s the responsibility of the whole group. But if we’re going to be successful this season, there is going to be a big emphasis on our attacking players getting a good goal return.”
This weekend's fixture is the first of back-to-back home games for City, and Matt was asked about the importance of returning to St James Park on the back of a long trip to Carlisle last weekend.
He said: “It’s a relatively quiet month in terms of travelling, the Newport game is one of the closer ones, so that’s probably more good news to our fans than it is to our players and staff. It does take its toll; it means you rarely train on a Monday after such long distances travelled on a weekend.
“But the players are giving everything they’ve possibly got, and the effort they put in against a fit Carlisle team was superb, so as long as our players keep putting in that level of effort and that level of performance, I can stand there as a manager and be happy.”