Martin Ling

Martin Ling sampled life in the Premier League at Swindon Town after winning promotion in 1993 as a left-sided midfielder for a team managed by Glenn Hoddle. The former Exeter and Southend player then enjoyed a three-year spell with Leyton Orient where he made 148 of his 564 career appearances, which delivered 63 goals. After finishing at Brighton, Ling returned to Brisbane Road as a coach. He was appointed manager in December, 2003 following a convincing period in caretaker charge. Club owner Barry Hearn was rewarded for showing faith in a fledgling boss. Ling gradually improved Orient's side. He was Manager of the Month for October in 2005 and won promotion from League Two that season before keeping the club firmly established at the higher level for the next two years. He departed early in 2009 as Orient battled relegation, but there was general acknowledgment that he had performed with distinction on limited resources. Ling was confirmed as the new manager of Cambridge United on 28th July 2009. Before taking charge at Cambridge, Ling had a brief spell with Scottish side Hibernian as Chief Scout. He remained with the club until February 2011 and was later appointed at Plainmoor. Martin enjoyed an excellent first season in charge at Torquay with his side narrowly missing out on automatic promotion by finishing 5th in League Two. He also won the Manager of the Month award on two occasions. Having left Swindon for health reasons he became director of football at Orient.