When Martin Ling received a call fromLeyton Orientasking him to come back as director of football in 2017, it changed his life. “There’s no doubt in my mind,” he says. “To be where we are is a minor miracle. There’s a Hollywood story everyone talks about with Wrexham. But we’re probably more of a Wood Green story – it’s just we haven’t got the famous actors behind us.”
Ling, a former midfielder who made more than 150 appearances for the O’s and spent six years as manager at Brisbane Road, thought his career was over afterexperiencing mental breakdownswhile in charge of Torquay and then, in 2015, at Swindon. In 2017, new owners stepped in at Orient after theturbulent era under Francesco Becchettiduring which they dropped out of the Football League for the first time, after 112 years. Ling’s appointment a few weeks later was the beginning of a remarkable revival that has given Orient a chance of playing in English football’s second tier for the first time since 1982 when they face Charlton in the League One playoff final on Sunday.
“I’ve had no relapse for eight years because I know now how to take care of myself,” Ling says. “Which helps in this kind of situation actually – I only do a day at a time. If I start to let my mind wander then that is when the trouble can start for me. But speaking about it really helps. If people can see that you can come out of the dark places that you get yourself into and then be successful then it helps them to realise if they do things right then life can be normal.”
That includes offering advice to his staff and members of Richie Wellens’ squad, who spent a few days in Portugal recovering fromthe penalty shootout victoryat Stockport last week that booked their place at Wembley.
“My door is always open to talk about anything,” says Ling. “I think they feel comfortable even though I’m their boss because I’m also a human being and I can help them by talking about my experiences. The story often goes that they come in and talk about someone else who may be in trouble and then talk properly about their own issues. I’m not a counsellor but I can help to normalise what they are going through. There’s a lot of pressure on everyone in football when the result is so important.”
Wellens has proved a perfect fit at Orient after keeping them in League Two when he was appointed in March 2022. They had escaped the National League in 2019 underJustin Edinburgh but the manager tragically diedafter a cardiac arrest a month later and Ling struggled to find the right replacement for the former Tottenham defender, who has an annual charity match played in his honour. Orient were promoted as champions in Wellens’ second season and then he guided them to 11th in League One a year ago, before six straight victories at the end of this campaign snatched sixth place from Reading.
“We didn’t panic at the start of the season when we were sitting fourth from bottom because we could see signs of good performances around the corner,” Ling says. “Since then, so many players have grown.”
He singles out the Tottenham loanees Jamie Donley, whose 45-yard strike went down as aStefan Ortega own goal after it hit the crossbar and rebounded inoff the Manchester City goalkeeper in the FA Cup in February, and Josh Keeley, the goalkeeper who was the semi-final shootout hero, for outstanding contributions in recent weeks. But, like everything at Orient, it has been a team effort in a squad that has several academy graduates, including the defender Jayden Sweeney and midfielder Zech Obiero. The 15-year-old striker Teddie Lamb joined Manchester City in March for a reported £350,000.
“We’d be the youngest team in the division if we didn’t have Omar Beckles or Darren Pratley, which happened quite a lot with one being 33 and the other being 40,” Ling says. “But we’ve also needed their experience. Sometimes you get a group and they just gel. And it’s just gelled. There’s no secret; it’s just been a matter of going through the process and working hard.”
Sign up toFootball Daily
Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football
after newsletter promotion
TheAmerican millionaire David Gandler, co-founder and chief executive of the live streaming service FuboTV, became the new majority shareholder last month and plans to build a new stadium and training ground in the near future. Nigel Travis, who took over from Becchetti and has helped to guide Orient to calmer waters, will remain as the chair, and the vice-chair, Kent Teague, is also staying. Ling is hopeful it could be the start of an exciting new adventure, whatever the result against Charlton.
“We’ve probably got the worst training facilities inLeague Oneso God knows what they will be like compared to the Championship if we get there,” he says. “But David Gandler has got the vision and the drive to take us to the next level. The previous people who were in charge always accepted that they would get us to League One and then they would have to get us a billionaire.
“When we were sitting in the National League that was quite laughable, but that’s exactly what has happened. Nigel and Kent must think these promotions come along like buses! They couldn’t have passed the club over in better condition. There’s been a lot of hard work that has gone into it but we need to stay grounded and close to our roots.”