Ross Embleton put the speculation regarding his future firmly on the Leyton Orient board as he said he did not know how long he would remain in charge at Brisbane Road.

The caretaker head coach has led the O’s to two encouraging draws in two games so far, first holding high-flying Dover Athletic at the weekend before earning another point with 10 men against an admittedly limited Chester side on Tuesday.

Results are crucial for the E10 club but so too is regaining a fighting spirit which was lost too easily during the latter days of the brief Steve Davis regime, which has left them without a league win since September.

After Tuesday’s game with the North West side, Embleton said: “As I said at the weekend, I thought I would be in charge for Chester but the level of the performance we put in together would’ve dictated how quickly the board acted over whether to bring a new manager in.

“We’ve shown fighting spirit, I’m very disappointed we’ve only got two points out of the two games as the board and fans are, ‘does it speed up the process?’ You’d have to ask them.”

Embleton is 25-1 with BetVictor to become the next permanent boss of the O’s, a long way down a list which is led by former Gillingham and Northampton Town boss Justin Edinburgh.

The 47-year-old is no stranger to this side of London, having made 215 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur between 1990 and 2000.

He more recently earned plaudits during a four-year spell in charge of Newport County, taking them from second-bottom of the National League to 14th in League Two in less than three years.

Other frontrunners include Dover Athletic boss Chris Kinnear and Maidstone United manager Jay Saunders.

But for now, Embleton insists his focus has not wavered from carrying on as caretaker manager until he is told otherwise.

And he is already preparing the O’s for Saturday’s long trip to the South West to face relegation-strugglers Torquay United.

He said: “I’ll do everything in my power to prepare the boys if it’s my responsibility to get a result at Torquay, which I believe in myself to do. Whether that’s as manager or as assistant, we’ll see.”