Waltham Abbey resident runs various coaching sessions and reveals passion for developing goalkeepers

Leyton Orient’s goalkeeper coach Martin Brennan has been a busy man in recent weeks with trips to Italy and Portugal during the last month.

The 33-year-old only flew back from Umbria on Sunday after spending a week out there with O’s and before he started his role with the east Londoners on July 1, the ex-Fulham goalkeeper coach had been in the Algarve.

He took a group of goalkeepers out there for a training camp and regularly runs sessions back in England, Brennan said: “I’m a real strong believer in giving people chances.

“I got a great opportunity at Wycombe Wanderers. I was doing the under-21s at Tottenham Hotspur and Peter Taylor took a shot on me to work with him and the first team at Wycombe.

“Ever since then I have been hot on opportunities and my goalkeeper camps are set up to work with a lot lower numbers, but I just go into so much detail.

“I take 12 to 14 goalkeepers at a time, we spend four, five days together and we literally go into every bit of detail we can.

“We just see if I can get them from the league they are at to one higher or another one on top of that. I am very passionate about that and to give these boys an opportunity.

“There are ones we have helped. Jason Mooney was one we worked with, I signed him at Wycombe and then went on to Tranmere Rovers and Accrington Stanley.

“It’s definitely worked, but it isn’t about putting them into clubs, it is about trying to get them a grade higher and to make them understand the role really and add to their knowledge.”

Brennan has taken over the goalkeeper coach duties from Roberto Gagliardi after he replaced Lee Harrison in April.

It isn’t the first time Brennan and Harrison have had the same role at a Football League club. When the 33-year-old left Wycombe in 2012, he recommended the former O’s goalkeeper take over at Adams Park.

Eventually Harrison was given the role at the Chairboys before later joining Orient last summer when Ian Hendon was appointed head coach of the Brisbane Road outfit.

Brennan said: “It’s funny because when I was leaving Wycombe to go Fulham, the manager Gary Waddock asked me who I would take in and Lee was the one I said should 100 per cent take it.

“Lee is somebody I have always tried to help as well as him helping me and this time it has flipped round. That seems the way it is with football, but especially with goalkeepers. We are all very close friends and end up swapping roles, it’s crazy, but I’ve always been close to Lee.”