Leyton Orient part company with coach Steve Davis

Leyton Orient have parted company with head coach Steve Davis just four months after he was appointed at the Matchroom Stadium.

The 52-year-old only won five of his 18 National League games in charge, with a 2-1 defeat at Ebbsfleet United on Saturday leaving Orient 19th out of 21 clubs.

Just three points above the relegation place, the club has removed former Crewe boss Davis and put Ross Embleton and Dean Brill in charge on an interim basis.

Chairman Nigel Travis said: "There is no doubt results haven't been up to the required levels over the last two months.

"We showed a lot of promise in the early part of the season and unfortunately that hasn't been sustained.

"We felt it was time to make a change in order to give us the best chance of turning our fortunes around for the second half of the season."

Davis became head coach on a two-year deal in July following a successful takeover of Orient led by Travis, when he replaced the previous owner Francesco Becchetti.

With the club relegated from the EFL after a 112-year stay and it had been hoped he could ultimately lead the east London team back into League Two.

Travis added: "Steve came into the club at a difficult time with a shortened pre-season and a complete squad and staff rebuilding process underway.

"He worked tirelessly and professionally and we know from the players how much they enjoyed his training ground work.

"However, ultimately football is a results-based business and whilst we knew this was going to be a challenging season, we did not expect to be so close to the bottom four at this stage.

"We thank Steve for his efforts and wish him well for the future. Our attention now turns towards ensuring that we find the right person to come in and improve our fortunes on the pitch."