The 48-year-old started his professional career with the Seasiders before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in 1990

Justin Edinburgh is really looking forward to watching his Leyton Orient team face off with Southend United on Saturday at the Breyer Group Stadium.

The O’s head coach was reminded it is almost 30 years since he agreed his first professional contract with the Seasiders in August 1988.

Edinburgh enjoyed an 18-month stay at Roots Hall before earning a move to Tottenham Hotspur and forging a successful career as a defender in the Premier League.

He is grateful for the platform the Blues gave him and is excited to see Orient take on Chris Powell’s side this weekend.

“The club is special to me,” said Edinburgh, when asked about his history with Saturday’s opponents Southend.

“It is the club who gave me an opportunity to be a professional footballer, so I always look out for their results and I look forward to playing against them.”

Saturday’s pre-season match will not take place at Southend’s Roots Hall home, but at Orient’s stadium.

The pitch in E10 came under a lot of scrunity last season when it began to cut up badly in the early months of 2018 after a cold winter.

Issues occurred because no work could be carried out on the surface at the start of last summer, until Nigel Travis and Kent Teague had completed their takeover, but it is a different story this time around.

Edinburgh heaped praise on the O’s groundsman Colin James for his efforts over the last couple of months to ensure the pitch is back in pristine condition once again.

He said: “It will be nice to get back home and have a game there before the start of the National League season.

“The groundsman has worked incredibly well over the summer and the pitch looks in fantastic condition. I think it will be an excellent match and excellent run out to take us into the first week of the league season.”

Although Orient will send an XI to Greenwich Borough on Monday (July 30), Saturday is essentially the last game of pre-season for the first-team and they will aim to finish on a positive note.