O’s stopper Dean Brill says it was a ‘no brainer’ to sign a new contract at Brisbane Road.

The 32-year-old, who initially joined as the club’s goalkeeping coach last summer, has impressed after Justin Edinburgh named him as the O’s number one back in December, keeping six clean sheets in the league since then.

His impressive performances led to him being handed a new two-year-contract at Brisbane Road last month and the goalkeeper said it was an easy decision to put pen to paper.

Brill said: “I was delighted to be fair. I came in during the summer and I was lucky enough to be supported by the club and get a two-year staff contract, which was my first contract outside the playing side of things. But then to have followed it up six or seven months later and extend my contract by another two years after this one as a player was a bit of a strange scenario. But I’m delighted. In the eight or nine months I’ve been here now, I’ve really taken to the club and really got the club at heart now.”

“It’s obviously a big club and I’ve been part of the rebuilding process. My home town team Luton went through the same thing when they got relegated out of the Football League and I know it’s hard for the big clubs when they drop out of the league as they are a big scalp for everybody. When I got in the team, the support was fantastic and I’ve always enjoyed playing at Orient, so it was a no-brainer really.”

It’s fair to say that Brill has enjoyed an eventful time with the O’s since arriving at the club last summer.

Having initially been appointed as the club’s goalkeeping coach, the 32-year-old was then promoted to assistant manager on a temporary basis after Steve Davis was sacked, and he even spent 45 minutes in the dug-out after interim manager Ross Embleton was sent to the stands against Chester in November.

Justin Edinburgh then swiftly named the former Luton Town stopper as the club’s number one shortly after he arrived and Brill said the transition from coach to number one has been a lot easier than some might think.

He said: “The boys (Charlie Grainger and Sam Sargeant) have probably made it a lot easier than it sounds to be honest in respect of their characters. They’re both very good goalkeepers but they are also really good people. They were fantastic with me when I came in as a young coach. They listened to what I had to say and were very receptive and responsive to that. We built up a great rapport.

“When the manager then asked me to step in and play, the circumstances weren’t great as we had lost a few games and were on a bad run, it was their characters which made the transition a smoother one then it maybe looked on paper. They were good with me and they understood the situation and they’ve continued to work hard ever since to now get me out of the team.”