MARTIN LING praised the workmanlike qualities of his Orient side after they dug out a 1-0 win at Luton.

The O's worked hard for their three point haul and the O's boss left Kenilworth Road as a happy man.

He said: "It's a big win, because it's our first in six games and our first away from home since November.

"Coming here on the back of a midweek defeat, it was a workmanlike performance - very good defensively, and it was pleasing to win ugly.

"We never looked like giving up our advantage once we had scored, and our young back four were very solid.

"I can't remember Stuart Nelson making any significant saves and that's testament to the performance of the players in front of him.

"We did a few little things differently to make sure we went out in that first half with a real purpose and I think that worked."

Jabo Ibehre bagged the all-important goal with 26 minutes on the clock and Ling felt that was just reward for some excellent performances from the O's striker recently.

He continued: "In the transfer window I felt we needed a big striker, but I didn't see anything out there that was better than Jabo to fetch into the club.

"And since he's come back from injury he's been good even though the results haven't been great.

"He's got a couple of goals in that period. That's good for him and it's good for us because when he's on song, he gives us a focus in the final third."

The O's took advantage of Walsall's postponement to move level on points with the sixth-placed club and Ling believes the play-off race will go right to the wire.

He added: "If I was a betting man I'd say that there's four teams who will be in the top six at the end of the season - Swansea, Doncaster, Nottingham Forest and Carlisle.

"After that it's anyone's game and we're in a group of about a dozen clubs who can make that fifth or sixth place.

"There's certainly a possibility of us making the top six and that would be a fantastic achievement. Today's result helps us to believe that."