Ian Hendon: What does he need to do over the summer?

Leyton Orient confirmed former captain Ian Hendon as their new head coach on the 28^th May. Here is my bucket list for what the new man has to do in the coming months.

Get rid of the deadwood

Dossena showing some skill.

One problem last season was the amount of overpaid players that weren’t delivering. The likes of Darius Henderson, Jobi McAnuff, Andrea Dossena and Gianvito Plasmati often left O’s fans grumbling (well, even more than they already were). That, combined with some of the players that were an important part of the playoff final squad, inexplicably transforming into players who were unable to make much useful contribution to the team at all within a matter of months, led to the eventual relegation from League 1. The new man must eradicate the problem players if he wants to succeed with the club.

Use the loan market wisely

Hedges showed passion when he played

Ryan Hedges and Alex Cisak did make very useful contributions in the second half of last season and they were borrowed from Swansea and Burnley respectively. Players like this pair can be valuable in a battle for promotion or relegation as they want to impress those watching from their parent clubs. Added to this is the fact that players like Hedges are young and hungry, and have a bit of pace about them. With Hendon’s knowledge of the West Ham academy we might possibly see some young, hungry talent coming to Brisbane Road.

Bring stability to the club

The club has been about as stable as a badly constructed bouncy castle over the past twelve months, so Hendon will need to do more than just paint over the cracks. A stable starting XI is a must, as well as capable first team coaches and backroom staff that would contribute ably to the cause. As long as this happens the club will be in a much stronger position than it is at the moment.

Play the younger players

There is a core of about 5 or 6 young players that are on the fringes of the first team and some (e.g. Charlie Grainger and Harry Lee) have been around for what feels like ages. So this is now a better opportunity than ever to actually give these promising players some actual game time. If these players are good enough for the bench they are surely good enough to be given some opportunities in the first team, right?

Keep the better players

Super Kev will always be remembered

With Orient having already lost two of their best players in Scott Cuthbert and Kevin Lisbie, Hendon needs to do everything in his power to keep the remaining talismanic figures (the likes of Dean Cox and Romain Vincelot). A team with a younger average age than last season would show more passion and hang on every word that the new manager says and with the guidance of players like Vincelot it could be a recipe for success.

So those are the main things I would like Ian Hendon to do. Did I miss anything? Tweet me @David12Lloyd or leave a comment below and I will be more than happy to discuss with you.