Leyton Orient appoint Justin Edinburgh as club’s new Head Coach

By Matt Bishop
National League strugglers Leyton Orient have appointed Justin Edinburgh as the club’s new head coach.
The 47-year-old, who was most recently in charge of League One side Northampton, has agreed a two-and-a-half year deal in East London.
Edinburgh replaces former Crewe boss Steve Davis, who was sacked by the O’s on November 14 after winning just three points out of a possible 33.
Director of Football Martin Ling told the club’s official website: “We are extremely pleased to be able to welcome Justin to this Football Club.
“We built up a criteria for a Head Coach and Justin ticked all of the boxes. He has experience in the National League which I feel is of huge importance, but also enjoyed success in this division by achieving promotion with Newport.”
Following a career as a left-back with Southend, Tottenham and Portsmouth, Edinburgh moved into management with Fisher Athletic, Grays and then Rushden & Diamonds, who he led to the conference play-offs in 2010.
The experienced manager went one step further with Newport, as the Welsh club reached the Football League under his guidance in 2013, and it’s Edinburgh’s background that really impressed the Orient hierarchy.
Ling said: “What I really liked about Justin’s CV was that he started in non-league and earned his stripes by succeeding at this level before building on that in the Football League.
“We are focussed on moving this Club forward, but the first hurdle is the most difficult in getting out of this division and that has been proven over the years with several teams that have dropped out of the Football League.
“Justin has overcome that first hurdle before and is someone that we know can be very productive. He has a record of pulling teams away from trouble and improving them during his tenure.
“It has been an extensive search and we said that we would leave no stone unturned. We feel as a Club that we have got the right man and the sooner Justin starts working with our players and gets this season turning around, the better for every single person that is connected to Leyton Orient.”
Orient are 20th in the National League, and Edinburgh’s first game in charge will be at Solihull Moors on Saturday.