Orient chairman seeks fresh ideas

Hearn is looking for an established manager to keep the club up

Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn says the club's next manager will be an established name capable of preserving their League One status.

Former O's boss Martin Ling left Brisbane Road by mutual consent after nearly five years in charge on Saturday taking assistant Dean Smith with him.

Hearn told BBC London 94.9: "I won't be advertising the job.

"It will be an outside appointment and hopefully someone who has the appetite to get involved with a dogfight."

Youth team manager Kevin Nugent has been put in temporary charge but Hearn hopes to move quickly to name the new boss to ease the club out of the relegation zone.

"If we were going to make a change it was probably fairer for everybody to make it now rather than the end of the season to give the new manager the opportunity to turn it around and keep us in League One."

Ling made over 150 appearances for the club as a player before taking over as manager in September 2003 and Hearn paid tribute to his service.

"Martin has been a fantastic servant. I think we both knew in life you sometimes get to your sell-by date. I think even Martin knew it was time for a change.

"Martin has been fantastic for us for five years, getting us our first promotion in a tough business as smaller clubs have been up against it for a long time.

"Working with the budget he's had he's done a fantastic job but if we want to stay in League One we've got to roll the dice and see if we can so that's going to involve new personnel."

Orient's next game is a local derby at home to Southend United.