Leyton Orient are confident they can appoint a manager that will take the club to the next level as they continue to undergo the process of narrowing down the shortlist.

Plenty of names have been rumoured including the likes of Kenny Jackett, Colin Calderwood, Neal Ardley, Paul Tisdale, and Stephen Robinson among many others.

Board director Matt Porter refused to give too much away but believes the calibre of managerial interviews the club has undergone are exceptional.

“We’ve been going through a process since the end of the season and I must say the calibre of person that we have spoken to is phenomenal,” Porter told the Orient Outlook Podcast.

“The shortlist itself is the best shortlist that I have worked across. We have made some good appointments in the past that I have been pleased to be a part of.

“Often in those environments there wasn’t four, five or six exceptional candidates and what I would say at the moment is we have that resource available to us in terms of the calibre of person that wants to come work for us.

“What we haven’t done is sat there and waited for people to write in. This is people approaching us saying we know you’re a good club and we feel we can get you promoted.

“The interviews that we have conducted so far have been outstanding. We are very confident that we will make an appointment that will take this club to the next level.”

The O’s are also awaiting on news whether the likes of Lawrence Vigouroux, Danny Johnson, Conor Wilkinson, Craig Clay, Dan Happe, James Brophy and Jayden Sweeney – the players have 28 days to accept or reject the deals.

“Don’t be under any illusions, and don’t blame a footballer for finding themselves a better deal, people might be happy to play for us but they might be even happier to play for somebody else.

“It might be bigger, might be a higher division, might be better money or might just be closer to home. There is lots of reasons why players move on.”

He added: “No player is irreplaceable, there is always another player that is hungry, got ability, is affordable, committed or lives in the right area. As much as we would like people to re-sign, just look at those retained lists that are being sent out by clubs in League One and League Two and even the Championship.

“There is hundreds of players available this summer, so it’s certainly not panic stations.”