Having successfully negotiated the penultimate match of the league programme by producing a thoroughly professional win over Wycombe, Orient now stand just one more game away from a return to the League 1 play-offs for the first time in just over a decade.

In the end a goal from an unlikely source: the head of Randell Williams, was enough to secure all three points in a match that while it was hard-fought throughout, Orient always seemed to be in control of. Did Josh Keeley really have very much to do all afternoon?

Win at Huddersfield tomorrow afternoon, barring some kind of miraculous multiple goal victory for Reading at home to Barnsley, and that much-coveted sixth spot is ours. If Reading don’t manage to win, then simply matching their result will be enough. Tomorrow afternoon promises to be a nervy affair, but in a very positive way given where the club found itself just eight years ago.

Obviously not wanting to jinx things, I will leave any mention of who we might play, and how we might fare for next week’s post, if we do indeed do the business. However what I will say is that with us possibly being in the play-offs and the club announcing the arrival of a new majority shareholder in the form of David Gandler at the end of last week, there is a real feeling of the Spring of 2014 around E10 and our beloved O’s just now.

Wembley in 2014 was heart-breaking of course, but it was what happened with “he who we must never name” at the helm that was the real tragedy of Leyton Orient. While even as a relatively newbie to the Orient family I can fully understand why there might be a completely justified sense of nervous apprehension about what the future might hold; it is just as important to remember the job that Nigel Travis, Kent Teague and the rest of the board and management have done in not only rescuing the club but putting it back to where it was 11 years ago.

Equally, I think we have all grown to trust Nigel and co sufficiently  to accept that everything they have done so far has been with the best interests of the club and fanbase at heart, and I am sure the fact that Nigel, Kent, Richard Emmett, Matt Porter, Sulman Ahmed, Kevin Willer, Jason Baine and Jeffrey Devron will all remain involved, demonstrates that they all fully believe this is the right time for additional investment and the right way forward.

I won’t profess to know a great deal about David Gandler, but as the co-founder and CEO of a streaming service focusing on sport and football in particular, and having previously been involved in Paris FC, then he at least has a football pedigree.

In an initial interview posted on the club’s website, Gandler spoke about being “super-excited” to have become involved with the club. He also went on to speak about being able to empathise with the club, specifically with regard to: “its history, its values, its ability to recover from adversity, its resilience”. It is of course relatively easy to say all the right things at the start of a journey like this, but Mr Gandler came across as sincere and excited for what the future might hold.

He also talked about wanting to continue the progression that the club has been making since the dark days of 2017 and eventually reaching the Championship. Although our new majority shareholder was keen to stress that this needed to be done in a “very sustainable way”.

In terms of practical actions, Gandler spoke about raising the budget for players’ wages in order to stay competitive and (rather as expected) talked about “improving the infrastructure” with specific reference to the new stadium and training ground, maximising existing revenues and creating new streams. All this to be done while maintaining the accessibility and community focus of the club.  A vision for the future that I think aligns with what we as a fanbase want for the club.

In the press release about the new investment the board also outlined its new long-term objectives:

• To become a club that can compete sustainably at Championship level 

• To improve its training facilities to help attract the best possible talent to the club  

• To enhance the club’s already fruitful academy pathway  

• To build a new stadium in the London Borough of Waltham Forest 

• To enrich and inspire more local people through the work of Leyton Orient Trust 

• To support the continued development of its women’s team alongside the McCaffrey Football Group 

All of this looks very positive going forward, obviously as Gandler was keen to point out, there will inevitably be bumps along the way, but if we can truly develop into a club that fulfils our new investor’s and the board’s ambitious aspirations, then the future of Leyton Orient Football Club could be very bright indeed.

While it is always nice to dream about the future, back to the here and now and we stand just 90 minutes away from what seemed at the beginning of the season as an unlikely place in the play-offs. As a club whose playing budget ranks in the lower half of clubs in the division, to still be in the mix ahead of bigger name clubs with far greater financial resources, is testimony to the way that the squad has been built and managed, the way the players have performed and the grit, determination and spirit that they have shown.

During a difficult start to the season, and most recently after the run of five defeats in succession, qualifying for the play-offs seemed like a longshot, yet here we are with our destiny in our own hands. Even if in the end we aren’t to make it, it has been a fantastic and a successful season, but you just get the sneaky feeling that the Orient story for 2024-25 might not be done just yet!

Up the O’s!