Martin Ling says he and new Leyton Orient head coach Steve Davis will have a give and take relationship as they look to rebuild the club.

A former Orient manager himself, Ling was appointed director of football at Brisbane Road in June and has since set about adding depth to a depleted squad.

Davis was appointed O’s boss on Monday, and Ling is confident he will be able to work effectively with the new man in the dugout.

“I was delighted when Steve agreed to join us. Sometimes, being a director of football, people are a little scared of that title,” Ling said.

“I wanted someone that knew I work for them and they work for me, that is how I seen my role.

“We work together to get the best we can out on the football pitch.

“The coaching side is left to Steve and Ross (Embleton) and I am not interested about being at the training ground. What goes on on the grass is down to them.

“Of course, I have an interest when they talk about football and I’ll give an opinion, and it’s the same when we are trying to sign players, we will all have an opinion.”

Ling’s most pressing concern lies in adding to an Orient squad, which inevitably lost much of its number in the wake of relegation from League Two.

The 50-year-old has wasted little time in doing so, with Tuesday’s signing of Alex Lawless taking the club’s summer arrivals to five.

He admits the process of bringing players in has been streamlined somewhat, with the need for numbers sometimes meaning expedience has been at the heart of transfer policy.

Regardless, the goal is, and always has been, to deliver a first-team squad with the ability to compete in the gruelling environment of the National League.

“It has been a bit of a microwave and we have had to do things a lot quicker than we would normally,” Ling explained.

“We have had to take chances on players a little bit, because we haven’t got the due diligence in terms of scouting and all the evidence that we need.

“Instead of having 10 names in each column and saying which one we are going to take, it has been more like two or three and we will have to take a chance on them because we need them in the building.

“At the moment, it is about finishing the recruitment and I will work with Steve to make sure he has the best tools that he can.”

Additional signings are, of course, a must between now and the start of the season.

It may well be from within, however, where the O’s find their best reinforcements, with Ling insisting promoting youth will continue to be a priority for the Brisbane Road club.

“The remit of director of football is from the oldest first-team player and member of staff all the way down to the Under-9s,” he said.

“The new owner said straight away that the academy stays.

“It was massively important to the owners and to me that it was part of where we wanted the club to go.

“Their is a realism that you can go can actually be an Under-10 here and go right the way through to the first team.”