IT has been another busy week for Orient manager Paul Brush, what with Saturday's Cup game and his continued search for a striker.

Lincoln, who like the O's beat Second Division opponents in the previous round, sit just three points lower in the table and with the teams not having played yet this season it will be hard to predict how this one will turn out.

Brush said: "We expect a very hard fought game. They have been very difficult opposition to break down away from home, achieving seven draws on their travels.

"We have been going well recently, but we still need to impose ourselves on them to get a result."

Wimbledon have given Brush mixed news in his preparation for the game, with centre back Mikele Leigertwood being given permission to play while being denied the use of his on-loan team-mate Wayne Gray.

Brush said: "It was a case of you can have one but not the other. But I am just pleased that we have got a good enough relationship with Wimbledon to have got the lads in the first place.

"We settled with the compromise that we can have Mikele for cup games and we can keep Wayne for an extra day over the month for the game with Southend."

Brush clearly would have hoped that Terry Burton would have allowed the young striker to play, especially with the news that O's forward Gary Fletcher has been ruled out of the game and could be sidelined for several more weeks with a knee injury.

He said: "I just feel so sorry for Gary, because he has come through three weeks solid training only to get a reaction just above his knee."

This news has led to both former Wimbledon target man Carl Leaburn and former England Under-21 striker Steve Slade being given trials.

"Carl isn't fit enough to train with us at the moment, but Steve has been in this week and there have been one or two others who have been recommended to us," said Brush.