Wayne Brown hails ‘brilliant win’ for Colchester at Orient

Posted Sunday, February 06, 2022 by PA

Wayne Brown heaped praise on his players following Colchester’s 1-0 win at Leyton Orient.

Appointed as interim head coach following the departure of Hayden Mullins, Brown has yet to taste defeat having steered the Essex side to two wins and two draws from his four matches in charge so far.

It took experienced striker Freddie Sears just four minutes to give the U’s the lead with his 13th goal of the campaign as the visitors deservedly went on to take all three points.

“It was a brilliant win for the lads,” Brown said.

“There was a lot stacked against us today in respect of wives giving birth, Covid, players going down in warm-ups on top of the injuries we’ve already got, but it just highlights the trust that we have in the youngsters.

“Young Gene (Kennedy) coming on when we lost (Cole) Skuse with a head injury just shows the individuals in the group and the characters we have in the squad and how to win ugly.

“Any successful team or club do have strength in depth. We have numbers on board now and we trust in our youngsters too, which is widely applauded.

“We did our homework on Orient, how they play, and we knew there were areas we could exploit and transitions.

“To get a goal after a few minutes was a big bonus. Good combination play was what we worked on in the week, so it’s always good when it comes to fruition.”

Orient have now taken just two points out of the last 21 and have also managed just one goal from their last five league matches.

Boss Kenny Jackett took full responsibility for his team’s defeat.

“It was a disappointing performance and as a manager, I’m responsible,” he said.

“It was a difficult afternoon and our best chances fell to Aaron Drinan who did play well, and I have just said to him to only worry when you are not getting the chances.

“That’s how it’s going for us at the moment, there were some big chances there and we needed that goal to give ourselves some confidence.

“There’s some frustration in those missed chances. We lost our confidence when we went a goal down and there were too many players fighting their own individual battles and losing their way really.

“We’ve got too many people at the moment who are learning on the job.

“With injuries and illness, it’s just leaving us slightly unbalanced. It’s not an excuse though.

“We are disappointed with our form and it has to improve and I understand that. We are unbalanced and slightly young. We are doing our best but we couldn’t find a way back into the game.”