Don't expect Peterborough United's suffering to end any time soon, but did it have to be like this even with so much injury misfortune?

‘We’ve got who we’ve got’ was a brutally honest assessment from manager Luke Williams after he’d watched a team containing players who have been exposed far too quickly to League One football, and others who are simply out of form, slump to a predictable defeat at Leyton Orient, a side who have spent much of the season battling to get away from the relegation zone.

Put Tom Lees, Matty Garbett, Ben Woods and Harry Leonard back into this Posh side and a top-half finish would probably arrive. Without them for much longer and it will be a struggle to avoid relegation. That battle has probably started in earnest already and a defeat to lowly Rotherham – a side with considerably more strike power that the current Posh line-up – on Tuesday would mean the gap to the bottom four will most probably be down to five points as Blackpool host bottom club Port Vale on the same night.

TALKING POINTS FROM ORIENT 2, POSH 1...

1) Of course it didn’t have to be this way. The spotlight has now started to shine on that January transfer window decision not to sign new players. There was logic to the decision. Posh lost at home to Huddersfield in the last game before the window closed to fall 10 points off the play-off pace. They were eight points clear of the drop zone and playing well enough to believe going down wasn’t going to be an issue either. But Woods had already been sidelined, Garbett hasn’t been seen since, Lees came a cropper soon afterwards and now Leonard has been forced to have surgery. Bad luck has played a huge part, but selling Gustav Lindgren and not replacing him put a huge burden on Leonard’s fitness. It was in no-one’s season plan to have a battle for the centre-forward spot between two young lads with no Football League experience, certainly when there remains something to play for. Plymouth, who were below Posh in the table on deadline day, are three points from the play-offs despite losing their main striker to injury. It’s amazing what can be done with attacking cover.

2) Rookie striker David Kamara who last scored a senior goal four divisions below League One as recently as the end of February, made his full Posh debut yesterday and was far from the worst performer. He showed good mobility and a couple of neat touches and turns in the opening half an hour when Posh actually played pretty well compared to recent away games. Given the resources he had available Williams was right to start with an inexperienced striker and keep Jimmy-Jay Morgan in a supporting forward role. Morgan was outstanding yesterday despite some rough treatment at the hands of Orient players, all indulged by the latest referee to apply the laws in the most lenient way possible.

3) The collapse of Lees in a pre-match warm-up last month prompted ‘defensive injury curse’ headlines. Lees has been the most consistent Posh defender by some distance this season, followed by Carl Johnston who collapsed yesterday. Johnston, rather than Morgan, had been the outstanding Posh player in the opening 30 minutes at Orient, combining strong defence with some electric bursts forward. But there must be a football voodoo curator somewhere sticking pins in effigies of Posh defenders as Johnston’s day ended when his calf popped as he moved forward with the ball with no other player around him. I’m no believer in black magic, but if anything happens to Alex Bass or Archie Collins in the next week or so I will be converted.

4) Losing the captain was a sickening blow, but there was comfort in the presence of Harley Mills in a matchday squad for the first time since December 13. Mills did well all things considered, although his stiff-looking gait when forced to sprint was a worry, and his return will give the defence balance. I suspect Johnston would have switched full-back flanks on Tuesday if he hadn’t picked up his injury as that side of the pitch currently lacks dynamism and accuracy.

5) Kyrell Lisbie delivered a frustrating performance in the first-half when he was given the ball in dangerous positions on many occasions. His decision-making was poor though, often to the obvious frustration of Morgan. But making him switched wings for the much of the second-half made little sense and he duly became anonymous. The right side just doesn’t suit him as it cuts off his ability to get inside onto his stronger foot.

6) The difference in squad depth yesterday was stark. Orient made three substitutions around the hour mark and they were all effective with two of them combining for what turned out to be the crucial second goal. Posh also made three substitutions during the game, one because of injury, which made no difference to the flow of the game. The other Posh subs had no chance of getting on without another injury. There is currently no midfield cover apart from a promising 17 year-old. Posh hadn’t played for two weeks before this game and yet ran out of steam quickly. They barely picked up a second ball in the entire second-half.