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Leyton Orient boss Steve Davis targets Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea talent for National League

Eastern promise: Steve Davis wants to bring the fighting spirit back to Orient after the pain of dropping out of the Football League
Eastern promise: Steve Davis wants to bring the fighting spirit back to Orient after the pain of dropping out of the Football League

Steve Davis believes he can give Leyton Orient back their soul after three chaotic years and has vowed to forge close ties with London’s Premier League elite.

Davis is the first Orient manager appointed since Nigel Travis, chief executive of Dunkin’ Donuts, completed his takeover last month, bringing to an end the disastrous three-year reign of Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti.

Davis’ brief is to restore Orient to the Football League as quickly as possible after they were relegated to the National League last term for the first time in their history.

During more than five years at Crewe, the 51-year-old won promotion to League One via the play-offs in 2012 and secured another Wembley victory a year later in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Standard Sport revealed last Monday that Davis was the frontrunner for the Orient job and he was unveiled alongside director of football Martin Ling, a former Orient manager, the following day.

“This is a great club but what has happened must have been painful for everyone,” Davis told Standard Sport. “The club lost its soul a bit and we need to get everyone on board, get them behind us. We can only do that if we fight on the pitch.

“I already have contacts with clubs in London. I know [Arsenal assistant manager] Steve Bould, who was at Stoke when I played there, so I have done loan deals with Arsenal in the past, as well as Tottenham and Chelsea.

“The contacts are there and I would like to build up those relations, also with West Ham.

“We might be able to recruit players who have been released by those Premier League clubs.

“But you have to work on those relationships and gain a level of trust — and, to me, that means going into those clubs, sitting down and talking at length.

“We had quite a few London boys thrown at us at Crewe — Chuks Aneke, who was at Arsenal, as well as Alex Kiwomya, who was playing for Chelsea at the time. We need to make sure we use our contacts.”

With competition for young players in the London area so ferocious, Davis and Ling hope Orient can attract talented youngsters by showing them a clear path to the first team.

At Premier League and Championship clubs, teenagers can often become disheartened by the level of competition and drift away from the game. Necessity forced Orient to field several young players towards the end of last season, with the club in chaos from boardroom to changing room.

Pressure: Davis wants an immediate return to the Football League (Getty Images)
Pressure: Davis wants an immediate return to the Football League (Getty Images)

Yet, that experience should stand these players in good stead when the new season begins, at Sutton on August 5.

Davis knows non-league football well. He had a brief spell at Northwich Victoria in 2003 — “the toughest job I’ve ever had, with a budget about £4,000 per week” — before leading Nantwich, another Cheshire non-league side, to two promotions in three seasons, as well as victory in the FA Vase at Wembley in 2006.

His early work at Crewe brought attention from Burnley, a former club as a player, and Wolves. He says he rejected both roles through loyalty to Crewe, but the club’s declining fortunes meant Davis’ star fell, too.

He remains confident in his ability but has been forced to accept a position in non-league to demonstrate it.

Winning promotion this season would be an excellent start.

“We’re all talking about consolidation,” he admitted.

“But I can’t say that to the players. The owners and Martin are realistic, but I can’t tell the players we’re happy finishing halfway up the table.

“Why can’t we finish high up this season? It is a new league and a different type of football, but it is not out of the question.

“We are one of the biggest clubs in the league and pressure comes with that, but I want my players to have pressure.”