THE most relieved man in Leyton on Saturday had to be Paul Connor after his Orient teammates dug him out of a hole by overcoming his first half dismissal to record a precious 2-1 win.

Connor was banished to an early bath with just 20 minutes of Saturday's vital clash with Peterborough on the clock, but Orient showed a great deal of character to triumph in the face of adversity and Connor was extremely grateful to the ten remaining men.

"They got me out of it to be honest," he admitted. "I'm devastated that I've been sent off but relieved that we've managed to win and that it's back in our hands again.

"He's grabbed hold of the back of my neck for no reason when I was off the pitch and it was a natural reaction to get someone off you.

"There wasn't any need for him to grab me - I hadn't done anything wrong to him and I think he was just there to try and get me sent off.

"I shouldn't have reacted so it's my own stupid fault and I just hope the lads can do it against Oxford."

Despite Saturday's abberation, Connor has made a highly favourable impression since signing for the O's in January and he says that the position they find themselves in, with automatic promotion in their hands, is a just reward for the work his side puts in.

He continued: "I've really enjoyed it since I joined - it's been a great club to sign for and to finish the season as we have, with one defeat in fifteen, gives us hope that we can carry it on next week. The club deserves promotion and if we can do our job at Oxford it'll do all of our careers a lot of good, as well as the club.

"Some of the football the lads play here, along with the hard work they put in in training and knowing how much they want it, proves how much we deserve promotion.

"I knew we were going to win today when the lads came it at half time because I could see how much they wanted it."

As a result of his dismissal, Connor will be forced out of next week's decider at Oxford through suspension and he admitted that he will be distraught to miss out on the chance to play his part.

He concluded: "At the minute I'm relieved because we've won but come next week I'll be devastated as chances like that don't come around too often in your career.

"Watching today was the worst thing I've ever had to do - I asked the kit man how long had gone when I was sent off and I couldn't believe it when he said twenty minutes, so I doubt I'll be a good watcher at Oxford!

"But we know what we've got to do next week so fingers crossed we can go out and get the result we need."

Orient World subscribers can hear the full, audio version of this interview by clicking here.