The 51-year-old has become the first Football League manager to lose his job this season.
Andy Hessenthaler
Leyton Orient fans have become used to managers coming and going in recent times.
Since Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti bought the O’s just over two years ago there have been seven of them, with Andy Hessenthaler the latest to find himself dismissed after an indifferent start to the season.
The final straw for Hessenthaler’s brief reign came this weekend as Orient went down 2-1 at Notts County. The previous weekend had seen the East London outfit slip to a 1-0 home defeat to Yeovil, and the consecutive losses have left the club 14th in League Two.
General view of The Matchroom Stadium,
Not one to allow a manager time to turn a situation round, Becchetti has given the former Gillingham boss his marching orders and placed assistant Andy Edwards in temporary charge ahead of the midweek trip to high-flying Plymouth.
Hessenthaler had acted as assistant himself prior to taking the hotseat at Brisbane Road, firstly to Ian Hendon and then to Kevin Nolan, who was removed in April after three months as player-manager.
Kevin Nolan, who was sacked in April
Becchetti managed to further antagonise the club’s faithful earlier this month by releasing club legend Dean Cox after his proposed move to Northampton fell through.
Orient fans are now grimly familiar with the revolving door policy that is in place, and the reactions on social media were examples of this.
Even former players were sticking the boot in, with Gabriel Zakuani – who came through the club’s youth system and represented the first team between 2003 and 2006 – expressing his disapproval.
Not all fans were disappointed with the decision, however, with some feeling the manager wasn’t performing well enough in the role.
Having been so close to earning promotion to the Championship in the 2013/14 campaign, Orient fans now seem resigned to scrapping it out in mid-table in League Two this season, with some not ruling out the possibility of a relegation scrap whilst the turnover of managers remains so high.
There are some positives to take for Hessenthaler – at least he won’t be getting kicked again by the owner any time soon…
Do you agree with the decision, or have Orient become a shambles? Leave your thoughts below.
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