Leyton Orient have things to work on says Richie Wellens

O’s fans in a Brisbane Road crowd of 8,372 had hoped to celebrate their first home fixture in League One with a positive result, but it proved a chastening experience.

Marlon Pack put Pompey ahead from a corner on 23 minutes, with Colby Bishop heading home a second just before half-time.

An own goal by captain Omar Beckles, from Gavin Whyte’s cross, made it 3-0 on 51 minutes with Kusini Yengi firing home from the spot in stoppage time.

And Wellens told the club website: “I feel for everybody. First half, I thought we were probably the better team.

“They’ve come with experienced players in this league, some have played at the level above, and they’ve just done the basics right.

“Not once did I look at them and think they’d wowed us. They just defend the box well and attack balls in the other.

“We need to be better in both boxes but I think there was a load of good stuff.

“If you look at us, you think ‘they’re a good team’ and we do some really, really good things.

“But I think first half we could even take more shots, when it’s on.

“But then, there’s other parts of the game, against a team that basically want to get a second ball, get a pass and get it wide, cross it and they’re really good at attacking the box.

“Obviously they’ve got Colby Bishop, he’s a big lad, and they’ve got some people who can put the ball in good areas.

“But we’ve conceded from set-plays now and crosses and it’s something we need to work on.”

O’s have failed to score in their first three games of the 2023-24 season, having lost their league opener at Charlton [1-0] and a midweek Carabao Cup tie at Plymouth Argyle [2-0], and head to Wycombe on Tuesday.

And Wellens admitted he could have done with a blank midweek given the injuries that are mounting up.

“We’d like the extra week to get a few back,” he added.

“We need to regroup, I’m down for the players. I’m really gutted for them.

“First half, we moved the ball quickly, but the third goal is a shocker. It takes the wind out of our sails.

“We’re coming out with the mentality if we get one we’re back in the game.

“It’s been a tough start, obviously in terms of the results, but the injuries are a problem.

“We need to focus on getting players fit.

“We prepared with Sol Brynn to start and he got injured yesterday, potentially a bad one, and then Tom James come out of the warm-up.

“You look at our squad at the moment and it’s really threadbare and it’s being tested.”