Jobi McAnuff on what is making Orient tick this term
Jobi McAnuff is just getting better and better at the age of 36...
HE has appeared in the Premier League, scored at Old Trafford and even swapped shirts with Lionel Messi, but playing in NonLeague is just like any other game for Jobi McAnuff.
The 36-year-old has now played in England’s top six tiers and is leading Leyton Orient’s promotion chase with his classy midfield performances, which have almost reserved him a permanent place in The NLP’s National League Team of the Day this season.
Despite gracing the top-flight stage with Reading, McAnuff had no concerns about dropping into Non-League by re-signing for Orient last season having left in 2016.
Unfinished business? Perhaps, but the club itself had a bigger task of returning to the Football League and learnt some harsh lessons last season as manager Steve Davis was dismissed after an 11-game winless run.
At least for Orient supporters they still had a club to support, even if a 6-1 hammering at Bromley was far from the idealistic campaign they may have dreamt up under their new American owner Nigel Travis.
But now their hopes of returning to the ’92 holds more substance and captain McAnuff feels they’re heading in that direction.
“The whole club seems to be together and really focused on getting the club promoted, which is ultimately the aim,” he told The NLP.
“The new investors have been fantastic since taking over and there’s been a real sense of, I suppose, steadiness. I don’t mean that in a negative way, they’ve been very realistic and they want to get the club back there.
“Hopefully it will be a matter of time, the sooner the better, of course, but there has to be a foundation put down given what happened over the previous three or four years. We certainly feel we’re laying it and now it’s a matter of building on it.
“It’s been a hectic start of the season with a lot of games. One defeat and a disappointing performance [against Sutton]. Other than that we’ve been pretty steady, we’ve got to be pleased with the points we’ve accumulated over those 16 games.”
Impact
Key to Orient’s revival has been manager Justin Edinburgh, an astute appointment and a man who knows what it takes to win promotion from Non-League’s top tier having done so through the play-offs with Newport County in 2013.
McAnuff has worked under the likes of Harry Redknapp, Alan Pardew and Brendan Rodgers, and rates Edinburgh up there with them.
“He came in during a difficult period where we hadn’t won for a long time,” says McAnuff, who has completed his own UEFA Licence B coaching badge. “Someone with the experience he’s got, not just in terms of doing well at this level, his general football experience having played at such a good level, he’s certainly a man who commands respect.
“He always seems to hit the nail on the head whether it’s from our point of view in the changing room, training ground. It’s just a matter of carrying out the game plan. I can’t speak highly enough of the impact he’s had with very much a similar group of players to the start of last season.” Edinburgh has galvanised the group and fan base, who turned out to the tune of over 6000 last weekend for their clash with Hartlepool. Orient have taken 33 points from 16 games and have shown they can be prolonged title challengers up against big hitters Wrexham and Salford. “Apart from early on last year we were never really anywhere near challenging,” adds McAnuff. “This year we’ve given ourselves a shot. Down to seventh place, anything less than that is not going to be acceptable this year. “We’d love to go up automatically but it’s just about getting the club up. “The winter months will sort a few out in terms of the travelling, injuries, suspensions, fatigue with the number of games. We’d love to see ourselves in a similar position coming out January/February which is when the real stuff starts in that last two or three months.” McAnuff has won plenty of plaudits so far this season. Originally a winger, he admits his pace has somewhat faded and now operates more centrally, mostly inside from the left, to see more of the ball and unpick opposition defences happy to frustrate at Brisbane Road. He has played 32 times for Jamaica, where his father was born, and had that meeting with Messi in the 2015 Copa America. Messi asked for his shirt too.
Passion
Now he visits traditional NonLeague grounds like Braintree and Maidenhead, but thrives on the new surroundings and doesn’t plan to hang up his boots just yet.
“I try to use every experience as a positive one,” he adds. “I’ve seen a different style of football whether it’s on the pitch or off it. For me I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of seasons.
“At the end of the day football is football, in terms of my job and going out and winning games that doesn’t change whether it’s in the Premier League or Conference. While I can still impact on the club and mates I’ll keep going as can.
“My passion for fo something I’ve got deep and coming down to Non see that even more tha some of the bigger club you’re not getting 25,000 fans. The effort fans ma greater sometimes because of some of th they have to travel to.”
And McAnuff believe
players should embrace the chance to gain first-team experience in the lower leagues – like his in-form teammate Macauley Bonne.
“I’m realistic about where I am, and I’m happy to be here,” he says. “For a younger kid, looking at NonLeague they might think it’s below them and want to stay in that safe zone of U23s. That’s not real football. “I’d much rather go and watch a game in the Conference than that. Three points are on the line, promotion, relegation, whatever it is. A lot of lads would benefit from stepping out of that comfort zone. “It’s really tough to come through and they have to find a way up. That could be by coming down. “Macca [Bonne] has played a lot of football for someone relatively young. He stayed with us and is scoring goals again. “I think people that look at him will be thinking he’s the real deal, it wasn’t just one season.” Like Bonne, Orient have been looking like the real deal too.
“ANYTHING LOWER SEVENTH THAN PLACE IS NOT GOING TO BE ACCEPTABLE FOR US THIS YEAR – Jobi McAnuff Leyton Orient