FOOTBALLERS always seem to score against their former teams, and thankfully for Orient it was JJ Melligan rather than Cheltenham's Paul Connor who did the business on Saturday. The O's winger spoke to leytonorient.com after the game.

JJ, how important was it to secure that win?

"It was massive for us, considering the result on Tuesday. I think a few teams would have pulled away from us if we hadn't, so we were desperate for the three points to be honest with you, for our self-confidence as well."

You started on the bench, with three strikers up top - was that anything to do with the conditions?

"To be honest, that's a question you'd have to ask the gaffer. He wanted to play Wayne Gray in right midfield and he did well actually, it was a good ball for the goal. But obviously I wish it was me out there at three o'clock!"

Did you sense you'd score when you came on?

"To be fair I can score a goal generally, but coming on, it was hard, because I want to score against my old team but they're down there and I don't want to rub it in. I've got a lot of respect for Cheltenham as a club, I had three great years there; promotion, and we stayed up last season. So to be honest with you, it was good to score, but it's a shame it wasn't against a different team."

Was it a big moment for you, though, having been out of the team recently?

"I haven't played for a while to be honest. I felt a bit unfit but hopefully that's telling the gaffer that I am available and maybe he can play me, if he feels that he can."

How's your goalscoring record generally?

"Well I've only got three goals this season, but the last two seasons I've got eight, so it is a big part of my game. I haven't been doing it so much since I've been here but hopefully I can get a few more. Usually I would have had four or five by now, and the chances I've had this season, I should have had eight already."

Finishing teams off has been a problem for the O's recently - were you worried that Cheltenham would equalise too?

"That's just football in general, no team's going to go through a whole game and not get a chance, unless you're playing Under 9s or something. But we got the result, and I think we're second now. A few other teams have got games in hand but hopefully we can get a result against Carlisle next week."

Would that have been a very tricky trip if we hadn't won for a few games?

"I don't fancy anyone going to play there, in a way. They're good at home and where they are in the league just goes to show how good they are. So it'd be nice to get a result. A win up there would be absolutely fantastic."

JJ Melligan was talking to Si Hawkins

LEYTON ORIENT	MATCH STATS	CHELTENHAM TN
2	Goals	0
5	Shots On Target	3
5	Blocked Shots	4
5	Shots Off Target	3
8	Fouls Won	6
6	Fouls Conceded	8
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
3	Corners	5
0	Offsides	2
MORRIS	KEEPER STATS	HIGGS
3	Saves	2
2	Catches	2
0	Punches	0
0	Drops	0

CHARLIE DANIELS	HEAD-2-HEAD	ALAN WRIGHT
0	Goals	0
2	Shots	0
2	Tackles Won	1
4	Crosses	3
29	Total Passes	25
86.2%	Completed Passes	88%
1	Fouls Won	0
0	Fouls Conceded	0