Leyton Orient should look to former player to arm Richie Wellens with Plan B | OneFootball

Orient could need a plan B in the upcoming months of the season.

Leyton Orient seem to finally have hit some form in League One this season.

Saturday's 2-0 win away at Wigan Athletic made it three wins in a row for the O's, who have put daylight between themselves and the relegation places, as they currently sit 16th.

Orient have definitely found some attacking momentum, with forward Dan Agyei scoring in two of those games and Leeds United loanee Sonny Perkins impressing in his recent run of appearances.

However, with the winter schedule coming thick and fast and the poor conditions around the country expected to continue into the new year, the O's could look for a different option, as their quick and dominant style of football isn't going to work in every game this year.

With the possibility of loan recalls throughout the squad and the need for reinvestment in the January window, there is an opportunity to look back to Orient's past and find a striker that could provide that true super-sub role when need it.

Paul McCallum was unlucky in his first Orient spell

Paul McCallum was a highly-touted prospect when he was released from West Ham and joined an Orient side that had recently been relegated to League Two amid undergoing serious financial issues off the pitch.

His first season in East London got off to the perfect start as he scored on his debut in a 2-0 home win over Barnet but that was as good as it got for McCallum, who suffered ligament damage in late September.

Then-manager Ian Hendon told the club’s website: "We are devastated for Paul. He had a great start to the season and was showing what he was capable of. Paul will be a loss for us, but knowing the type of character he is I am confident he can come back fitter and stronger from this experience."

He ended the season with just ten league appearances and three goals scored, as the O's only missed out on the play-offs by six points. It would be very easy to think that had McCallum been available for the whole campaign, his goals could have been the catalyst to get them into the play-off spots and possibly even take them back to League One.

His second year found much greater personal success for the forward, who was Orient's top scorer and finished the season with 12 goals in 33 appearances. However, the season was overshadowed by the club's problems on and off the pitch – they were relegated and the club was issued with a winding-up order before being taken over.

McCallum hasn't found a long-term home since departing Orient

McCallum went on to join National League side Eastleigh after departing the O's at the end of the 2016/17 season.

However, McCallum only spent two seasons with the Spitfires before departing and bouncing around the National League, never spending more than two seasons anywhere barring a two-and-a-half-year spell at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Despite the constant movement, McCallum has never lost his knack for scoring goals and has remained a consistent threat wherever he's been. With him standing at 6'3", he would provide a different outlet to an Orient side that don't have any taller forwards. He's a traditional target man in stature who could add another string to Richie Wellens' bow.

The player would surely be open to an EFL move and one that would take him back somewhere he knows. Speaking to BBC London at the time of joining the O's in 2015, McCallum stated: "At West Ham, I used to get loaned out here, there and everywhere but now I'm here (at Orient) and this is my home and I want it to go well."

He will want another shot at proving himself with not just Orient but in the Football League, where he hasn't played since 2017. With the current budget restraints at E10, what the O's need is players that have a point to prove.

His form with Eastleigh shows he is ready to take the step back up - with eight goals and three assists in the National League this term.

With the games coming thick and fast in East London, McCallum's services could be the perfect fit for what the O's will need and a good option to come off the bench when the game isn't going the way Wellens would have hoped.