RUSSELL SLADE believes Orient's week in Devon will prove invaluable to his side's preparatory work for the 2010/11 season.
The O's put on good performances in beating non-league duo Eastleigh and Truro City before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Barclays Premier League new boys Blackpool.
Slade got the three games he wanted out of Orient's participation in the Joma South West Challenge Cup, and although he was annoyed at the manner in which they conceded Blackpool's winning goal as they exited at the semi-final stage, he was impressed overall with their display.
"It's been a good break - it has served its purpose and was what we needed," he said.
"Players have had minutes on the pitch, and although the substitute situation was a difficult one to overcome as it was reduced to three, we worked around that as best as we possibly could.
"The players have got good match time and playing Blackpool on Saturday was an invaluable experience for us.
"I was disappointed with the goal we conceded at the end because we put in a lot of work and if we had conceded a goal like that in a League game I'd have gone crazy.
"We gave the ball away sloppily in the last minute and that's killed us, but apart from that it was a decent performance, particularly in the first period.
"We certainly didn't look out of place against top flight opposition and we created four or five really good chances.
"They're a team who possess good movement and they're on a real high right now, so I was pleased with some aspects of our game, and the only aspect I wasn't pleased with was the last few minutes."
One negative of Saturday's game was the fact Adam Chambers had to be withdrawn in the first half suffering from a sore calf.
Having suffered a string of calf injuries in the last 18 months, Slade is concerned about the midfielder's latest problem, but is hopeful it has been nipped in the bud by his early substitution.
"Adam Chambers had a tight calf," he confirmed. "We're hoping he's going to be ok.
"I'm hoping he's going to get through it because he's been magnificent in pre-season and has not missed a day's training.
"As the games have kicked in it's probably got too tight for him. We took him off immediately so hopefully we've not caused too much damage."
With the start of the npower League 1 season now less than two weeks away, Slade says he is delighted with the progress his players have been making in pre-season, although he would like a fully fit squad for the start of the campaign.
"I'm really pleased with the progress we're making on and off the field," he added.
"The only negatives are that Charlie [Daniels] hasn't played. Ben [Chorley] needs to be playing - hopefully he'll be back on Wednesday, and of course we need to see how Adam [Chambers] reacts to treatment.
"They're my concerns, but I'm really happy with the squad. Kenny Gillet and Ben Tozer have come in and done well during their trial periods too, so overall I'm pleased, but just a little bit concerned about the injury situation."
This interview appeared first as a TV feature on Orient Player. Click here to subscribe or for more info on our premium web service - available from less than 10p per day!
