Leyton Orient

Goalkeeper Nathan Baxter believes Leyton Orient are capable of climbing the table and being part of the League One promotion battle this season.

The east London side are 12th following Saturday's goalless draw with second-placed Bradford.

"You just want to be in the mix come the end of the season and we just want to go into every single game thinking we can win, because we can," O's keeper Baxter told BBC Radio London.

"We're only going to get better. This is definitely a team which is getting better, and we've got good strength in depth."

Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens says he takes the blame for his side being "vulnerable" at times this season - because he has "dodged doing the basics".

Wellens revealed he had drilled his side in pressing, recovery and out-of-possession principles last week after the O's had lost four of their previous five games in all competitions.

It resulted in a goalless draw away at second-placed Bradford City on Saturday.

"We've looked vulnerable at times this year and the games have got open," Wellens told BBC Radio London.

"I take full accountability. We got a new group of players at the start of the season and I wanted to be top straight away - on the ball, patterns, rotate, all of this - and and I forgot to do the foundations.

"All of my teams in the last four years have been built on duels, running, [being] aggressive. So we've worked on pressing, recovery, shifting as a back five, and the players have taken to it really well.

"We've been like this all season. The team has worked hard. Sometimes it's tried too hard.

"But I take accountability because I want to get to us being a top football team but I've dodged doing the basics and the defensive stuff."

Orient sit 12th in League One, after just one win in their past five league games.

Andrew Raeburn
BBC Sport England

Leyton Orient majority shareholder David Gandler says the site identified for a proposed new stadium will allow the club to "grow quickly".

Last month, the League One club announced they had signed a second agreement, external with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to further explore the options for a multi-sport campus.

It would mean Orient leaving Brisbane Road, their home since 1937, with the aim of moving into a new stadium within the borough in time for their 150th anniversary in 2031.

Speaking to BBC Radio London, Gandler said the "large-scale project" had a capital expenditure "in the billions of pounds" and would "drive thousands of jobs" in the area.

The precise location of the of the site has not yet been disclosed but Gandler said: "We've identified something that we think will achieve our overarching goals.

"There's an opportunity here to to build something unique in an area of London where I believe there is a site that can allow us to grow and grow quickly.

"I think Leyton Orient, despite its long heritage, is a blank canvas. It is located in east London, an area that I believe will enter hyper-growth.

"We're very focused on youth jobs. There's a grave concern right now, not only in London, but across the UK, that there's very few opportunities for young people who are college or university educated to actually grow into new jobs."

Orient played in the top flight of English football in the 1960s but are currently in their fourth successive season in the fourth tier.

Gandler said that, irrespective of the cost of the new stadium, he wanted to keep ticket prices "flat, to some degree".

He added: "English fans have been priced out of the game. My goal is to ensure that we're able to keep football affordable and give children, parents and grandparents an opportunity to spend time together.

"That's the community angle that we're very focused on."

Leyton Orient assistant manager Paul Terry dedicated the 1-0 win over Stevenage to "everyone associated with the club".

Alex Gilbert's 79th minute goal earned the O's their first home league victory since 21 March, after seven without a win at Brisbane Road.

"As staff, we were aware of that, but you don't want to get bogged down by that because it becomes a weight on the players' shoulders a little bit," Terry told BBC Radio London.

"We haven't made a big thing of it. As long as we do the right things in a game, we're always going to have a chance of winning it.

"It wasn't our best performance, it wasn't pretty. We've done the ugly side of the game and we've got the goal we needed and three points.

"This is for everyone - the players, the staff, the fans, everyone associated with the club - because we were all together on that one."

Image source, Shutterstock

National League strugglers Gateshead have signed Leyton Orient goalkeeper Noah Phillips on a three-month loan deal.

The 21-year-old has made six appearances for the O's this season but boss Richie Wellens said last week that he would be willing to loan him out to gain more experience.

Lee Cattermole's side, who play away at Kidderminster on Wednesday, have taken four points from their opening six league matches.

Leyton Orient's squad players did not do enough in the EFL Trophy defeat to Arsenal's Under-21s to warrant selection in League One games, assistant boss Paul Terry said.

The O's made seven changes, and took the lead against the Gunners' youngsters, but were beaten 2-1.

"We had a lot of players trying to get into the team for league games," Terry told BBC Radio London.

"They got an opportunity and they didn't do enough to [say], 'Give me the shirt Saturday'. None of them did enough.

"We created enough chances, but we aren't ruthless enough in boxes - and if you're not ruthless enough, you're not going to win football matches.

"We're in a sticky place at the minute. When we go 1-0 up, don't settle, don't change - keep doing what we're doing.

"It took us 25 minutes to do something that we worked on and when we did it, we scored. Then we attempt to hold on, and we sit off a little bit.

"Keep going, it doesn't matter. If you go 1-0 down, it doesn't matter. Keep doing the right things and you will get the rewards."

Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens admits he is concerned about the club's home form.

Defeat by managerless Wycombe on Saturday extended the O's run without a league win at Brisbane Road to seven matches, stretching back to March.

"It's concerning because how do we change the feel about [the place]?," Wellens said to BBC Radio London.

"You can't just be reactive where you win [and] everybody's happy, you lose [and] everybody wants to rip everything up and start again. You have to go through processes.

"I think we've got the nucleus of a good team [but] people need to learn things, people are playing at this level for the first time."

Wellens said on-loan defender Alfie Gilchrist would return from injury and be given minutes on Tuesday against Arsenal's Under-21s in the EFL Trophy.

He also said goalkeeper Oliver Dovin, a deadline-day loan recruit from Coventry, would likely start against the Gunners' youngsters.

However, a third loanee, Ipswich left-back Somto Boniface, is likely to be missing for another couple of weeks with the knee injury he sustained last month against Sheffield Wednesday.

Fellow defender Joseph Olowu went off against Wycombe with an Achilles problem, while Demetri Mitchell was sent for a scan after also picking up an injury in the same game.

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Harrogate Town have signed Leyton Orient midfielder Michael Craig on a three-month loan deal.

The 23-year-old made 32 appearances for the O's last season but has not featured this campaign.

He could make his debut for Town against Tamworth at home in the National League on Saturday.

"Having that authority in central midfield can help us deliver more controlled performances going forward," boss Simon Weaver told the club website., external

Image source, Getty Images

Leyton Orient have signed Moldova Under-21 international Cristian Pascaluta on an initial short-term contract.

The 20-year-old midfielder has trained with the O's in recent weeks, and the move is subject to the granting of a work permit.

"I am a midfield player that likes to win the ball for my team and start attacks with my passing ability," Pascaluta told Orient's official website, external.

"I am going to work extremely hard to try to earn my chance to play."

Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens says goalkeeper Noah Phillips will again be made available for loan, despite playing in five of the club's first eight matches in all competitions this season.

The 21-year-old helped the O's win two penalty shoot-outs last month, in the EFL Trophy against AFC Wimbledon and the EFL Cup against Walsall, and deputised for the injured Nathan Baxter in three League One games, keeping two clean sheets.

But Phillips was left out of the squad entirely for the 1-1 draw at Luton on Saturday, with the fit-again Baxter reinstated to the starting line-up and Oliver Dovin, a deadline-day loan signing from Coventry, on the bench.

"It was a tough decision for me," Wellens told BBC Radio London.

"I see Noah at this moment as a young goalkeeper, making his way in the game, and I see Oliver and Nathan as the finished article at this level, so it would be stupid of me to not put them in.

"My plan with Noah is to loan him out because he's had that taste of first-team football, and I want him to continue that so that in six months, a year, or 18 months, he's ready to be our first-team goalkeeper."

Phillips has previously had loan spells at Hornchurch, Bishop's Stortford and Dorking Wanderers.

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Leyton Orient have signed former Middlesbrough midfielder Alex Gilbert on a three-year contract.

The 24-year-old was released by Boro at the end of last season and being a free agent means he is able to join a new club outside of the transfer window.

"I was happy to be patient to make sure I made the right decision," Gilbert told Orient's website., external

"I spoke to a number of clubs over the summer and believe that Orient is the best place for me."

Gilbert played 40 times in the Championship for Boro and also won promotion from League One in 2025 during a loan spell with Charlton Athletic, when he was part of the team that beat Orient in the play-off final.

Orient head coach Richie Wellens said: "Alex has proved in recent years that he can be a really good player at this level.

"He is a threat from set-plays, in terms of his delivery from dead-ball situations, and he can play as either an eight or a 10."

Andrew Raeburn
BBC Sport England

Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens says his team played "unbelievable" football at times during their 5-0 League One win at Bromley on Tuesday.

The O's were the first team to beat the Ravens at Hayes Lane in a league game since March 2025.

"I thought we could have been three up at half-time," Wellens, whose side led by just a solitary goal at the break, told BBC Radio London.

"[There were] some good finishes [from] talented players, but above all, work rate and a desire to get into our structure defensively.

"We know if you don't get to the ball, and you allow balls into the box, it can be a difficult place to come. Our intensity to get to the ball was superb, and our desire to get on the first contact and landing around the second contact was very good.

"After that, the football was unbelievable at times.

"Football is about passes and runners. They had to swap their wingers over because we kept on getting out down the right-hand side.

"We passed, passed, passed and all of a sudden they started jumping – now, just get balls down the sides and get in races.

"We didn't just get obsessed with passing the ball. If people step on to you then you need to get in races down the sides as well. I thought we mixed it up really well."