Omer Riza has spoken of his disappointment at the way he left Leyton Orient

Riza departed Brisbane Road upon the expiry of his contract last June having been placed in charge of the O’s last seven games during what was a difficult campaign for the club, which ended with Orient being relegated from the Football League for the first time in 112 years.

The former Arsenal man had to contend with a number of issues during his time in charge, including players and staff not being paid, with Orient’s future looking increasingly uncertain under then owner Francesco Becchetti.

Prior to his spell in charge, the 38-year-old had worked within the O’s academy set-up where he worked closely with the club’s U16 and U18 teams, before he then stepped up to become assistant manager after Danny Webb’s appointment in January 2017.

As a result, having spent over two years with the club, Riza was disappointed with the way he left Brisbane Road last summer, admitting he would have liked to have spoken to chairman Nigel Travis shortly after his takeover last June.

Riza said: “I think the biggest disappointment for me is that I sat down with Martin Ling to have a chat, but it was just about whether there was a position for me. We never once sat down and spoke about the situation which had occurred or the situations that might occur now that the new owners had come in or what the youngsters were like.

“It was just like ‘There’s no position. You’re going to have to re-apply for any of the positions’ and that was the end of it. I was a little disappointed in that respect. I would have liked to have had a conversation even with the owners, just to let them know what the situation was and what actually happened, because stories can be told to owners and even directors of football and when it’s not come out of your mouth and it’s come out of someone else’s instead, that’s the only side that you hear. So for me, that was a little bit frustrating.

“But I always knew that taking it on and getting through to the end of the season was going to cause problems in respect of players, as some senior players I had to give some home truths to. I knew that but it’s part and parcel of what I took on and like I say, I’ll never ever say I wish I hadn't taken it on because I loved every minute of it.”

Riza will return to Brisbane Road for the first time later this month when he takes part in the Errol McKellar charity match which will take place on Sunday, May 27.

But the 38-year-old has been out of work ever since leaving the club last summer, although he is hopeful that his career as a manger will continue in the future.

He said: “I’ve applied for jobs within first team environments which I haven’t got, as obviously you’d know that I was back in a job. I have to be patient and unfortunately in football, when you’re out of the game, sometimes you can get forgotten.

“People know what style of play and what sort of manager I am. All I can hope for is to keep doing the right things, keep watching games, meeting people and speaking to chairman or head of academy’s and see what comes up. As it stands, there’s nothing set in stone at the moment and I just have to keep plugging away.”