Thelwell labelled as Orient's equivalent of Paul McGrath

1:29pm Sunday 7th September 2008

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ORIENT defender Alton Thelwell has been labelled as the O's equivalent of legendary centre-half “Paul McGrath” by manager Martin Ling.

Former Republic of Ireland and Manchester United star McGrath defied medical experts for years after continuing to play at the highest level of the game despite not being able to train because of persistent knee problems.

And former Spurs man Thelwell currently finds himself in a similar position as he continues to struggle with an inflamed knee problem after games that has dogged him since last season.

But with his knee heavily strapped at Walsall yesterday, Thelwell showed no signs of any trouble as he kept former O's striker Jabo Ibehre quiet, as the east Londoners kept their third straight clean-sheet in the league.

And the fact that former Hull defender Thelwell has been present in all of those games has pleased Ling, who was more than happy to leave the 28-year-old out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy win at Southend on Tuesday night.

He said: “I keep calling Alton Paul McGrath at the moment because he only trains on Thursday's and Friday's then plays on a Saturday. “It isn't ideal, but if he keeps playing like he has in the last three games I can live with that.

“Paul McGrath did it for years and he was a bit older than Alton. Ledley King at Tottenham has also got a similar problem, but we are managing that problem although I don't think it will be long before he can play Tuesday, Saturday and Tuesday again.

“He has really coped well with this trouble and that is probably because he is the most ultimate professional I've ever worked with.”