Wellens: Leyton Orient should be stimulated by Carlisle challenge

The League Two leaders had to settle for a point from a 1-1 draw at lowly Hartlepool United last weekend, after Paul Smyth’s goal was cancelled out by Connor Jennings with nine minutes left.

O’s remain five points clear of Northampton with a game in hand, while Carlisle slipped to fourth after defeat at Gillingham, and Wellens claimed no games are easy at this stage of the season.

“Maybe it will stimulate us more,” he told the club website.

“It’s not easy coming to places, you look at Gillingham, Colchester, they’ve all picked up, they’re totally different teams to the start of the season.

“You look at this club [Hartlepool], I think John [Askey] has come in and had five games and five draws. He said it pre-match to me, this is a difficult place to go. People have to take that into consideration.

“When you play a season, you need so many wins, so many draws and you’ll have so many defeats.

“So it’s not a bad point, we would’ve liked three and should’ve got three in the manner of the first 70 minutes, there was nothing really against us I can remember.

“And then the game does change, but we need to handle the momentum of the game a little bit better. Our game management and decision-making needs to be better but more than anything be a bit braver.”

Smyth fired O’s in front early in the second half with his 10th goal of the season, but Wellens was disappointed his side could not hold onto their lead, having let a two-goal advantage slip at home against Colchester a week earlier.

“It will get to this season where people will drop points unexpectedly,” he added.

“When people get there and they can see the line, they’ll have a wobble.

“And just like when you get this situation where clubs are fighting for their lives they can play with a freedom because it’s almost expected.

“Once these have got a few points now and it becomes close, that’s when nervous moments start.

“But in the first 70 minutes I didn’t feel any anxiety from our team. We could’ve been better but the pitch is difficult, it’s a difficult place to come.”

O’s look set to be without Theo Archibald again, but Wellens feels he has players good enough to cope with the Scot’s absence.

“It might be a week too early. We’re probably looking at the weekend after if he is to be fit. He’s quite a strange injury,” he said.

“Theo is a big loss because in his press, he knows exactly what, he’s worked with us for a long time now. But in Smyth, Ruel, Moncs and Sads, we have four of the best players in the league for that position. They need to step up, to do more.

“They’re four players I really like. You watch them in training and they’re so good. We just need to replicate that in a game.”