Orient boss Martin Ling has told his players they are free to enjoy themselves at Fulham - as long as they remember to stick to the principles he has taught them. Ling sees the Craven Cottage FA Cup clash as a treat for his squad after their hard work over the first half of the season, but is still keen for them to put on a decent show against their Premiership opponents. And he cautiously reminded himself that the competition still plays second fiddle to getting out of League Two, despite the media spotlight falling on the club. "It's the biggest game of the season in terms of exposure, press and in the players' minds, but it's not the most important, he said. "I want to go over there, put on a very good display and show what we're all about and give Fulham a test. "The four games over Christmas was where the problems would have come with players not wanting to be injured - the 'F' word was banned from the dressing room - but those four games produced nine points so they must have put it to the back of their minds and done their jobs. "Now they can concentrate on Fulham all they like and they should be looking forward to it - it's a reward for the players for the return they've got from the games so far. "We've had some hard places to go and get results so this is a reward for their hard work and I want them to enjoy it but be professional - I don't want that to go out of the window just because it's Fulham. "I don't think it's as big a pressure game as Wycombe because there are no Sky cameras and we're expected to get beaten. "The players should be able to play with complete freedom and when you do that and concentrate on the jobs you have to do the chance of an upset is possible. "There's a massive buzz around the squad at the moment with our league position, form and the Cup game coming up - the 48 hours off was good for the players as well." Ling has done his homework on Chris Coleman's side, but believes the most important thing is for Orient to worry about their own game "I've had Fulham watched three times - but there's an ulterior motive there as it's a nice place to watch football and Andy Scott lives nearby and Dean Smith's a Villa fan so he went there when they played them! "The reports all say Brian McBride is a massive danger but they've played three different systems with their midfield in those games. "We need to concentrate on what we do well and not worry about what they do - that's the most important thing on the day. However, the O's boss knows that if they do spring a surprise on Sunday, it will be of benefit to everyone at the club and help them on towards securing their ultimate goal of promotion. "It's a chance for us to get a few headlines but I'm more interested in the improvement of us as a club. "28 months in to the job people say I've taken it on well but the main thing for me is that I feel I'm improving as a manger and the club and team are improving too. "A win against Fulham would only help our confidence and portfolio for myself, the club and the players."(from leytonorientfc)
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