Leyton Orient defender Scott Cuthbert insists the club need to focus on getting off to a quicker start next season.

The O’s narrowly missed out on the the top six last season even though they made another poor start to the campaign. Despite expecting a stronger league next season, Cuthbert sees no reason why they can’t match their success in the 2013/14 campaign.

The 25-year-old said: “I think we will take each game as it comes but it will be a tougher league next year. There are strong teams coming up from League Two and there are some big clubs who have been relegated from the Championship. When you throw in clubs like Sheffield United and Preston who are still in the league then it will be very difficult.

“But we need to focus on starting well because in my two years here we haven’t done that. If we can get off to a decent start and then hit the ground running then we will be able to reassess our aims.

“We’ve kept the core of the team together and most of the players are still here which is positive.

“I’m sure the manager will be working to bring in a couple of players so there is no reason why we can’t be in a similar position in the league.”

Russell Slade is now among the top ten longest serving managers in the country having led the O’s for just over three years. Cuthbert believes this continuity is a strength and thinks more teams should adopt this approach.

He said: “There is a tendency that if things are not working in the short term to try to fix things. But you’ve seen with Wolves that changing the manager does not necessarily work as they’ve just been relegated for the second year in a row. It doesn’t always pay off to go down this route.

“The chairman [Barry Hearn] has to take a lot of credit for keeping the same team together and keeping hold of the manager.

“Going into the new season with the same players and having an understanding with them is ideal and it looks like we’ve got this and most of the defenders will still be here next year.”