WITH no game on Saturday and with Tuesday night's Westview League Cup match with Maldon Town postponed, Leyton assistant manager Kevin Wilkins believes the short break could prove to be a blessing in disguise.

The Lillywhites, who last week saw Frankie Curley join five other players that had already left the Leyton Stadium over the previous seven days, have also allowed Rio Alderton to go on a two-week trial at League One outfit Brentford.

But with manager and chairman Costas Sophocleous looking to rebuild the squad and lift moral in the camp following a few disappointing results of late, including last week's 6-1 hammering against Heybridge Swifts, Wilkins feel Maldon's need to postpone the midweek fixture because of their FA Cup replay with Potters Bar - has given them much needed time on the training ground.

Reflecting on events he said: "After letting Frankie go I think we have seen the last of the people leave that we didn't feel were right for this football club.

"Unfortunately we have also seen Rio go out on trial at Brentford, because he is the kind of player we want around the place. But we wouldn't stand in the lads way because it is a chance for him to get back into the Football League following previous spells at Southend and Millwall.

"Despite these departures we seem to have a much more settled squad now, with people focused properly on the job in hand. There seems to be a real buzz about the place again this week and with the Maldon game being called off we were able to work hard in training on Tuesday night, particularly on our defending.

"We have also been able to call a few of the young lads up from our youth set-up to work with us, and midfielders Aaron Cox and Ollie Slater have really caught the eye."

Leyton return to league action now on Saturday at Tonbridge Angels, before facing a trip to local rivals Waltham Abbey in the London Senior Cup first round on Tuesday night.

Reflecting on the games Wilkins added: "With the improvement in attitude at the club I feel we can go to Tonbridge and look to get a positive result now, although it will be a very close game.

"As regards the Waltham Abbey cup tie we may choose to give a couple of the young lads a run out to see what they are capable of, although we will still look to field a strong team on the night."