Embleton dismisses talk of him taking permanent role as Leyton Orient manager

Posted Sunday, November 17, 2019 by PA

Ross Embleton has distanced himself from talk over the vacant managerial position at Leyton Orient after overseeing the first match of his third caretaker spell in charge at The Breyer Group Stadium.

Following a humiliating FA Cup exit at the hands of eighth-tier Maldon & Tiptree last weekend, Carl Fletcher was sacked after just 29 days in charge.

The hosts were looking to give their fans something to shout about, but went behind after four minutes thanks to Alex Gilliead’s thunderbolt from 20 yards.

The O’s played with lots of spirit, but they lacked a cutting edge and were punished 11 minutes from time when Lee Novak ran through and lashed past Dean Brill.

“It was disappointing,” admitted Embleton. “I thought the boys had a go. In the first half it was a fairly even game. It was an unbelievable strike for the first goal.

“It took us a little time to get organised at the set piece, but take nothing away from the strike. We had slight chances and shots from distance without really hurting their goalkeeper.

“In the second half, we never really got to the level that I would have expected and then we conceded a sloppy second goal.

“Of course, [the sacking] had an effect on preparation, because we only had yesterday to prepare for the game. We’re not going to use that as an excuse though, and I’ve said that to the boys.

“It’s obviously been a disappointing period for us and the players, but football moves on quite quickly as we learnt over the summer [following the death of manager Justin Edinburgh].

“Because of how quickly the decision came around to remove Carl, the priority was to lift the boys’ spirits and energise them ahead of today. It’s a funny situation.

“A month or so ago I said [while interim head coach] that I didn’t want the job on a permanent basis. I’m not going to stand here now and say I want the job, because that would look ridiculous.”

Opposite number Paul Hurst was delighted with his side’s display, with the Iron picking up their first away league win this season.

“It was a very good away performance,” said the former Ipswich Town boss. “I don’t think our goalkeeper has had too many saves to make.

“We’ve limited them and defended set plays very well because they’re a big side. We didn’t want to be defensive, but we didn’t want them to gain the impetus with the change of manager and a full house.

“We felt there was an opportunity to hurt them on the turnover and with Lee Novak’s movement at the top end of the pitch and Kevin van Veen in behind we felt we could cause them problems and that proved to be the case.

“We’ve got the players to give anyone a game. We feel there’s been a [relegation] hangover from last season, but gradually we are moving up the table.”