NEW YEAR is traditionally a time for resolutions. These are made with the best of intentions, usually after excessive gorging during the festive period, but all too often they go unfulfilled.
Leyton Orient actually went without over Christmas, having to settle for a draw at Brighton before surrendering another lead to lose at home to Southend United.
But there is little doubt that the club have made a few resolutions of their own, having finished the year inside the League One drop zone.
They will be eager to better themselves on the pitch and push on into the security of mid-table before things start getting messy at the foot of the table.
The O’s were denied their first chance of a new beginning this decade when their home fixture against Yeovil was postponed due to a frozen pitch on Saturday.
But boss Geraint Williams will be hoping to get 2010 off to a winning start when the team travel to face fellow strugglers Oldham in a crucial bottom-of-the-league scrap at Boundary Park on Saturday.
The big freeze that has swept the country and claimed so many fixtures last weekend could yet force another swathe of postponements this week, but Orient will be eager to get back on the field and resume battle.
One player whose only resolution will be to produce more of the same is Scott McGleish. The veteran striker has netted eight times so far this season, and he will need to be on top form to guide his side out of the mire.
A win on Saturday could see them climb as high as 17th, as everybody in the lower half of the division will be nervously looking over their shoulders, given that just four points separate Orient in 21st to Southampton in 14th.
The O’s could not have chosen a better time to face Oldham, as the Latics have won just once in their previous nine league games.
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