Saturday can help Leyton Orient catch Huddersfield Town or Charlton Athletic in top six race | OneFootball

Saturday's valiant cup effort can be used as a platform for Orient's play-off push.

Leyton Orient fought tooth and nail in a close FA Cup defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

The O's took the lead with a fine strike from Jamie Donley deflecting off of City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega on its way into the net.

City fought back in the second half, bringing on players such as Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne - the latter scoring the winner for the Citizens in the 78th minute after Abdukodir Khusanov's deflected goal had brought parity.

Orient fans can be proud of the effort and performance shown by the side against one of the teams in Europe, but now all eyes look towards League One and the O's play-off push in the remaining months of the season.

Cup defeat leaves Orient focusing on the league

With the motivation of going toe-to-toe with the Premier League Champions, this could be a catalyst that propels Orient deep into the play-off hunt, no longer having any fear of being competitive with the bigger clubs in the division.

Following Tuesday's comfortable 3-0 win over Mansfield Town, Orient currently sit seventh in League One with games in hand on multiple teams in the play-off places.

While the O's have been in fine form as of late, others have struggled to cope with the winter fixture congestion. Huddersfield Town, who sit sixth and two points above the O's, are currently on a five-game winless run as they prepare to face fellow play-off hunters Barnsley, who Orient dispatched with ease back in December. Reading are also on a run which has seen them only win one in seven and fall outside the top six.

Leyton Orient have to look towards a tough run of fixtures

Like Orient, Stockport County and Charlton Athletic are also in great form - with them both on six match unbeaten runs in the league, making the fight for the top six even tighter. County recently defeated the O's at the start of the month, while the Addicks travel to E10 at the start of March in what could be a big game when it comes to the race to secure play-off football in League One.

After such an arduous cup run, many at the club would have wanted to ease back into league action.

However, due to international call-ups earlier in the season as well as the O's cup run, they now face a congested run of fixtures against some of the best sides in the division - Lincoln City, who are currently 12th, are the easiest game on paper running up to March 1st.

Dan Agyei, Jack Simpson and Dominic Ball returning from injury in recent weeks, though, will be a huge boost to an Orient side that will presumably be heavily rotated with the fixture congestion to come.

Agyei, in particular, hasn't been seen in a starting lineup since the O's trip to Bristol Rovers on New Year's Day, and his addition to a frontline that has been in fine form as of late will be incredibly beneficial.

Having just fought a close battle with the champions of England, followed up by a convincing league win three days later should give Orient the confidence they need to keep pushing into the latter months of the season.

Heading into such a tough run of fixtures, it is crucial that the O's keep the momentum going if they want any chance of securing a date at Wembley at the end of the campaign.

Whilst the end of the season still feels a distance away, with lots of football to play, it will be here before we know it. Orient's immediate focus is on keeping on the coattails of Charlton and Huddersfield (currently fifth and sixth) over the course of a tough run of fixtures that pitch them up against some of League One's best.

The third-tier's best, though, isn't quite at the level of the four-in-a-row Premier League Champions who Wellens' side have just pushed in the FA Cup.

If that fixture has any legacy, it has to be that Orient have nobody to truly fear as they pursue the top six.