Former Leyton Orient chief executive Matt Porter insists the club desperately need stability and have to give new manager Mauro Milanese time to succeed.

The O’s announced Milanese as their new boss on Sunday, with Kevin Nugent stepping aside after just seven matches in charge.

But Porter believes the club, having had three managers already this season, will only move forward if they give them enough time to build their own team.

Porter, who was asked to resign from the board at the beginning of this month after eight years as chief executive, said: “The most important thing is stability. They need a period of stability because changing things every two weeks is not going to work.

“One of the reasons for our success was that we were very stable as a club but no-one is going to be successful if they keep making changes.

“Even if Mauro loses his first three games, if they believe in him, then it’s important they stick with him.”

Russell Slade was the fourth longest serving manager in the top four divisions of English football until he resigned last month to join Cardiff City.

New owner Francesco Becchetti accused Slade of engineering a move away by publicly announcing his job was under threat but Porter is adamant that was not the case.

He said: “The ultimatum wasn’t ideal but I don’t think there was ever any intention to get rid of him. I just think it was an attempt to galvanise the players, whether you agreed with it or not.

“If Barry Hearn and I were still there I think there’s a very strong chance he would still have gone to Cardiff because it’s such an appealing job offer. The timing was just coincidental. The only way he engineered the move is by becoming a consistently good League 1 manager.”

Porter’s premature departure from Brisbane Road came as a shock to everyone as he was asked to leave the board by Becchetti. This meant the lifelong Orient fan was also forced to step down from the Football League board after just three months, which he admitted was hugely embarrassing.

Porter said: “The Friday before the Rochdale game at the fans forum I felt we were making real progress on communication and our strategy.

“But the Rochdale game went badly and after that they decided they wanted a period of stability and calmness. When they asked me to resign it was a huge surprise. I was very disappointed because it wasn’t the way I wanted my tenure to end.

“I envisaged a longer period of transition and genuinely wanted to help take the club forward. There are so many things for them to learn about and I have a lot of experience. I was ready to help and give honest advice.”

He added: “It was not my understanding it would only be for three months.

“Had it been then I would not have stood for the Football League board because it was hugely disappointing and embarrassing to resign after just three months.”

Porter attended the recent draw with MK Dons as a fan in the South Stand and admitted it was a strange experience having worked at the club for more than a decade, working his way up from press officer.

He said: “It’s strange after 13 years at the club, especially when you see things that you feel you could make a contribution and improve.”

One of the biggest criticisms of the club since the summer’s takeover has been the lack of communication with supporters. Fans were left waiting weeks for news on Slade’s successor and there has been a lack of updates from Orient this season.

Porter said: “The final thing I was encouraging [before leaving] was a clearer communication policy because the silence wasn’t coming across in the right way. It’s important to keep the fans onside and you need to inform people to avoid doubt and speculation.

“I always tried to foster relationships with the fans. That will never be the same here but that’s not their (the board’s) fault. They just need to get the rest of it in shape.

“You should always talk to fans because they deserve information but it’s about how you do it and where you say it.”

Nugent’s brief spell in charge came to an end following Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Port Vale. But he had to cope with three players being sent off in just four matches and the squad were hit hard by a spate of injuries.

Porter said: “Whether you agreed with him as manager, for someone with so many years service at the club it’s important to treat him with respect.

“The team has been decimated by injuries and the bench at Doncaster last week was the least experienced I can ever remember, with six scholars.

“They are down to the bare bones and the front four from last season were a key component of the success and they are either gone or injured. If he was going to get a new team to deliver, then he needed more time.”

Few people would have predicted such a dramatic decline since May’s heartbreaking play-off final loss at Wembley.

The former chief executive admits fans will have to be patient while the club rebuilds with a new squad.

Porter said: “There is no such thing as guaranteed success. It would have been very difficult to replicate last season. We were fantastic from start to finish but nobody expected us to fall off this dramatically.

“We need to look at how we can move on and build a new team to reach a similar level of success.

“Fans need to realise it’s going to be difficult to have success on the pitch this season but they’re still not a million miles away from the play-offs.”