Martin Allen was in good spirits despite Barnet’s opening day defeat to Leyton Orient at the Matchroom Stadium.

Speaking after the match, the Bees manager was keen to reflect on the positives of a determined performance by his side:

“I thought we played well – We had four good chances in the first half,” he said.

“If they’d gone in, you’d like to think that it would have been a different result.

“Fair play to Leyton Orient, they came back in the second half and got into the game.

“I think that in the second half they had two chances and got two goals.

“Overall I’d say it’s a massive step up from 16 months ago when I first got to Barnet.

“We were outside the playoff positions then, so to get to where we’ve got to today… it’s a very proud day for me.

“Some of these players have been here with me since the beginning, and to see them out there in front of a great crowd, playing against some good Orient players on this stage, is what we aimed for 16 months ago.

“I’ve just shaken all of our players by the hand, and said well done to all of them for their effort and their commitment.

“On another day if those chances had gone in we would have won that game.

“And that was against a team that I would imagine will probably finish in the top 4, definitely in the playoffs.

“So it was a great test for us today, and I thought we acquitted ourselves very well.”

Looking forward to the Capital One Cup clash with Millwall on Tuesday, Allen revealed:

“There are no new injuries, apart from Shaun Batt who had a tight calf when he was warming up.

“I’ll make changes to the team on Tuesday night and freshen it up.

“Some players deserve to play, after what has been a fantastic pre-season for us.”