The experienced midfielder discussed the community feel at the Brisbane Road outfit and why the club is one of a kind

Charlie Lee has admitted he has never experienced a club quite like Leyton Orient in all his years as a pro footballer.

The 31-year-old has had a bad year from a personal point of view with an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament damage) injury in August virtually consigning him to a season on the sidelines.

Lee did manage to return before the campaign ended and made three appearances for the O’s in April and has opened up about the support he received from the Orient faithful during his rehab.

“From day one it’s been amazing playing for Leyton Orient, the fans have been brilliant to me, considering I’ve been out for most of the season,” said the midfielder.

“I’d love to be able to show what they said to me when I was out and about during my injury, all of them were wishing me well to get back.

“It’s been an amazing place, but you can feel they want more and they deserve more. The club and the owners have been amazing, I’ve never met people like them to be honest.

“Everything is in place for the squad to start performing now and it’s up to us and we’re up for the challenge.”

Lee’s list of ex-clubs reads Tottenham Hotspur, Millwall, Peterborough United, Gillingham and Stevenage, but the energetic midfielder has been blown away with the support of the Orient fans.

The east Londoners have had some extremely tough times in recent seasons, but it does feel like a new chapter has started under the joint-ownership of Nigel Travis and Kent Teague.

Even in the club’s difficult moments, the community work taking place by Orient has always received plaudits and Lee has discussed how the O’s support is different to most other teams.

He added: “There’s a reason people go and watch clubs from Sunday League football all the way up to non-league football and that’s because the community aspect of it is just amazing.

“But to have a club this big, with this amount of fans and to have that community base is just amazing.

“It’s a club different to any I’ve been with before because it feels like your local team, your local fans, but there are loads of fans and we want to win for them.”

Additional reporting by Jacob Ranson.