SEAN Thornton says he is up for the fight as Orient battle at the wrong end of League One.

The mercurial Irishman is back at the front line at Brisbane Road after he was written out of Orient’s plan and banished to League Two Shrewsbury by ex-boss Martin Ling.

But under Geraint Williams, Thornton has come in from the cold and been a regular feature in an improving Orient team.

The former Premier League man said he feels revived after his spell in the wilderness.

“It's been frustrating this season, obviously with Martin Ling at the start, and going away to Shrewsbury” said Thornton.

“But I went there and put my head down for a month and ended up playing six or seven games. Football can be a strange game. It shows you that if you work hard and believe in your own ability then it'll show.”

And he underlined his value to the side last Saturday by scoring the last-gasp winner over Brighton Hove Albion, with a bending shot from the edge of the box as classy as it was timely.

Williams described it as “a little bit of magic.”

Thornton’s own assessment was a sober one.

He said: “It was nice. I would taken a tap-in, but it's nice to get a decent goal.

The 25-year-old’s repotoire of skills could play a major part in helping Orient to pull off an escape act, as the season hinges on a knife edge.

Individual moments of class from players like Thornton could make a crucial difference, if only he can stay fit.

He rued a series of niggling injuries for cutting his appearances.

“I’m not making excuses, but whether its been my hamstring or my calf or my thigh, it seems that every two weeks I've got some little injury. It’s been unfortunate. But I’ve had a few games on the spin now without any niggles.”

He praised the impact Williams has had in the changing room.

“Since he’s come in he’s added a lot of confidence to the side. All the lads are sticking together and hopefully we'll do that until the end of the season.”

Thornton was also positive about what Williams import, striker Scott McGleish, has brought to the team.

He said: “He's done well since he came in and has brought a lot of experience to the side as well. He works hard.”

Thornton does not want to return back to the basement division. He put Orient’s up-coming sequence of games into context.

“We're fighting to stay in this division. We're fighting for lives, basically.”