As a player, manager and now director of football, Martin Ling has seen a lot during his 16 years at Leyton Orient.
However, having made the best start to a season of any EFL team since 2004 to sit top of the League Two table, there are still a few new experiences for him to savour.
The 56-year-old is keen to point out that this history-making start has nothing to do with an influx of cash and more to do with the atmosphere Head Coach Richie Wellens has created throughout the club.
“The budget is the same as last year but it’s probably been spent in a better way,” Ling told the LO Down Podcast.
“When you look at the squad it’s the best since we walked into the club.
“For me, a lot of my judgement comes from how the training ground is feeling and looking.
“It’s about the vibe I get whenever I go to the training ground. There’s a lot more camaraderie, there’s a lot more things that we do together as a group.”
Ling appointed Wellens in March following the sacking of Kenny Jackett with last season feeling like a false dawn under the veteran and Ling is open and honest in his assessment of what went wrong during Jackett’s tenure.
“It was difficult with Kenny (Jackett) because he’s a different type, more of an old school manager,” Ling said.
“The players and the staff didn’t feel as part of it as much. You can’t knock Kenny’s record but it didn’t work at our football club, the chemistry was off between him and the players.”
Now under the more harmonious approach of Wellens, the O’s are flying and in no small part thanks to their summer recruitment.
Orient looked particularly lightweight in central midfield at times last season and that’s the area they’ve most improved on this term.
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The summer’s marquee signing was undoubtedly George Moncur who joined the club from Hull City, and when discussing the deal Ling doesn’t try to pretend how much of a coup it was.
“Look, if George Moncur wasn’t from Loughton he wouldn’t be playing for Leyton Orient”, admits Ling.
“We knew that George wanted to come home, he’d been on his travels with a young family and he wanted to come and put roots back down again and that did play to our advantage.
“When we first heard he was available we thought we wouldn’t be in the market for him due to his quality.
“But when he spoke to Richie (Wellens) on two or three occasions he really bought into the project.
“It was pushed into a can be done territory and once it became that myself and the club pulled out all the stops to make it happen.”
Another key component of the O’s midfield this term is Ipswich loanee Idris El Mizouni who arrived in July and has made an instant impact despite playing in a slightly unfamiliar role.
“Richie wanted an out and out ‘number four’ and previously he’s never played there”, Ling explains.
“Steve Foster (Chief Scout) has to take a lot of credit for this one – he badgered us saying Idris could definitely play there.
“I spoke to Bryan Klug, who’s his coach at Ipswich, and he said he’s probably better as an ‘eight’ but he’ll do whatever you tell him to do.
“The fact that the ‘number four’ is his second best position and he can play it so well, I think we’ve really fallen on our feet.”
While basking in the successes, Ling also readily acknowledges his failings in recent years.
Among those is the signing of Ethan Coleman who joined from King’s Lynn in January for a significant fee before being shipped out to Bromley on a season-long loan this summer following a lacklustre start to his O’s career.
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“I would say that we’ve got that one wrong but that doesn’t mean he can’t change that round. He came with a big reputation, we paid the most money we’ve ever paid for someone during my time at the club.”
“I’m not palming it off but Kenny really fancied him and so did Jamie Johnson who was the Chief Scout at the time.
“I would never say never because he’s got 18 months left on his contract but if I had to give a decision now I’d say we’ve got that one wrong.”
If Orient were to achieve promotion this season it would be Ling’s third with the club and he admits that if it were to happen this time, it would be extra special.
“We put a plan together in 2017 to be in League One within six years so it would mean the world to me because it would bring what we said would happen to fruition.
“Three promotions would be mammoth but the back two, not that I’m not proud of the one as a manager, would be extra special because of where we’ve come from.
“And we’d be returning to where I think this club should be – we’re a good League One club and we need to get back to being that.”
You can listen to the full version of this interview on The Lo Down Podcast.