Newport County and Leyton Orient to remember Justin Edinburgh

Edinburgh led both clubs to promotion to the English Football League, taking County up in 2013 and Orient in April this year, before his death at the age of 49 in June.

He will be inducted into the Exiles’ hall of fame before today’s game and many of his former players, and family members, will be at the ground to pay tribute and help raise money for the Justin Edinburgh Foundation.

Very few players were closer to Edinburgh than Aaron O’Connor, who played for him at Grays Athletic, Rushden & Diamonds and for County between 2012 and 2015.

And the striker, who scored in the play-off final victory over Wrexham, says Edinburgh is the reason he came to Newport.

“He was a fantastic man-manager, so I didn’t hesitate in joining him at Newport,” he told the club’s official matchday programme.

“I knew then that by going to Newport, even though I was leaving Luton who were relentless in getting to the play-offs every year, I knew we’d overachieve with Justin as manager.

“I can hand on heart say that if there was any other manager at Newport back then, I 100 per cent wouldn’t have signed for the club.

“That’s no disrespect to Newport but the options I had at the time, including staying with Luton, might have appealed to me more.”

It’s a decision that O’Connor has never regretted and he remembers his time at Rodney Parade as the best of his career – thanks to Edinburgh.

“Justin’s the reason Newport got promoted in 2013,” he said.

“He literally took the club from just staying up the year before, he brought players in that summer and had to assemble a play-off-winning team straightaway.

“It happened because Justin got the best out of people. If you ask any player who was involved in that team, they will all tell you that the best football they ever played and the best time of their career came in that two- or three-year period Justin was at Newport.”

The highlight for O’Connor was his goal at Wembley to make it 2-0 after Christian Jolley had broken the deadlock.

That day in May 2013 had started off on a sour note for the front man, but it ended up being one he’ll never forget.

“Scoring at Wembley, just the whole occasion was amazing,” he added.

“I haven’t told many people this but that day, in the play-off final, was the only time I ever fell out with Justin. I was gutted I didn’t start the game, but I understood the decision.

“I was fighting fitness and I wasn’t 100 per cent. In a one-off game like a play-off final, I felt like the manager needed me. I was disappointed, I was plodding around in the warm-up and I remember Justin telling me ‘don’t worry, you’ve got a big part to play today.’

“I can’t even remember how long I played. I don’t even remember touching the ball apart from the goal!"

Read the full interview with O’Connor in today’s official matchday programme, on sale at Rodney Parade this afternoon.

To learn more about the Justin Edinburgh Foundation and to donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/justinedinburgh3