Yahoo Sports 'Training ground injuries cost us each year' - Wellens
Injuries picked up at Leyton Orient's training ground are costing the League One club "hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds" every season, head coach Richie Wellens has told the BBC.
The Os train at Chigwell Private School and Wellens said the pitch is not good enough for a team in the third tier of English football.
Orient have won their past five league matches and are eighth in the table, four points below a play-off spot.
"The (new) stadium is eight to 10 years away, that's not a problem," Wellens told the 72+ podcast for BBC Radio 5 Live.
"We need a training ground, we have to pay a certain amount every year to use Chigwell Private School, but the amount it costs us in injuries is severe.
"We lose hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds through players being out because the level of the pitch at Brisbane Road is very good, the level of the pitch at our training ground is not good enough for a League One team that want to get to the level we want to get to, so it's something we need to improve.
"My job at the moment is to pick a team that wins matches, but we do need a new training ground and it does influence the budget."
The BBC has been told that Leyton Orient have not raised concerns with the school over the standard of the pitches, which are not used by the school and are separately prepared for the use of the club, nor injury problems relating to their use.
FA Cup win catalyst for unbeaten run
The Os lost their first four league games of the season but have picked up 37 points from 20 since then, the fourth highest total in that time.
They brought in the likes of Sonny Perkins, Jamie Donley, Josh Keeley, Jack Currie and Charlie Kelman on loan and Wellens said his side had "bloomed" after a tricky start .
They host Derby County at Brisbane Road in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, having beaten Boreham Wood on penalties before producing a stunning 2-1 comeback win against Oldham Athletic in November.
Since then, they have gone nine matches unbeaten in all competitions, winning eight and conceding just two goals.
"We scored the winner (against Oldham) in the 121st minute and our run since then has been incredible – clean sheets for fun, scoring loads of goals, and it's just been a group of young players that's come together," said Wellens.
"We've still got our experienced guys who are the glue of the squad but the likes of Donley, Keeley, Jack Currie, all these kids now like Sonny Perkins.
"It's like a flower – it just bloomed. They're enjoying it, they're not thinking about every aspect of the game; they're playing with a freedom and at the moment they're a joy to work with.
"Every single window, I lose my best players. I have to get new players in and I have to develop them quickly, and last year we had a slow start, this year we had a slow start, but that is part of the process of developing young players [and] getting them going."
