Nathan Clarke insists there is no reason for Leyton Orient to be too downhearted after the end of their unbeaten run and is determined to make sure the O’s do not throw away their glorious start to the season.

The League One leaders were beaten at the 13th time of asking after a 3-1 defeat at Coventry City on Tuesday night but the Orient skipper insists their focus has already turned to responding positively at home to Rotherham United this weekend.

Clarke said: “It’s about getting round the lads and making sure there is nobody too downhearted. I think the run that we’ve been on we’d be foolish to let that slip away now. We’ve worked so hard early on in the season to get where we are and we need to rally round everyone. We’re going to be disappointed tonight and going to look to put things right.

“Obviously it’s downhearted [in the changing room]. You’re coming off the pitch losing a football match. But it’s not the end of the world and we move on and we’re lucky we have this game Saturday to really put things right.

“Luckily Sheffield United picked up a draw at Peterborough and our goal difference is keeping us there [top]. But we want to kick on and bounce back as much as we can so Saturday is the perfect opportunity for us.”

The O’s were well aware of the threat Coventry offered from the two home cup games earlier this season but defender Clarke admitted the side found it hard coping with the pace and power of forwards Callum Wilson and Leon Clarke.

“We always knew it was going to be a tough game and we’ve come unstuck,” Clarke said. “We felt we certainly had enough but the goals they scored and the timing of them really put us on the backfoot.

“The first half wasn’t one of our better displays. We came into it probably about 15 minutes before the end of the first half. There were a couple of nice movements and passages of play from us and possibly on a different night we would have latched onto them.

“From playing them at our place previously, we knew it was going to be a tough night. The movement and link-up play the strikers have got is very difficult [to defend] but we’ll put that to one side and move on.”

Shaun Batt was handed only his second league start of the season and although the forward was largely ineffective on Tuesday night, Clarke feels he can fill the void of injured top scorer Kevin Lisbie.

The captain, whose team have only lost seven league matches in 2013, said: “You could possibly say that [missing Lisbie] but I think Batt came in and did a good job for us. He puts himself about and has proved himself coming off the bench – he’s an absolute handful to mark. I think Batt did well stepping in for him and we’ve got players like that who can do that.”