Lawrence Vigouroux and Leyton Orient toast League Two title win
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Leyton Orient goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux (left) was named in the League Two team of the season
Lawrence Vigouroux was in the thick of the celebrations as Leyton Orient lifted the League Two trophy, but the goalkeeper once faced an uncertain future at Brisbane Road.
When Richie Wellens joined the O's as manager in March last year, memories of a difficult period in Vigouroux's career resurfaced.
The 29-year-old Chilean previously played under Wellens at Swindon Town, but was dropped from the first team and subsequently released at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
"He got rid of me because I wasn't professional," Vigouroux told BBC Radio London.
"I knew how good a manager he was at Swindon and I didn't respond the way I should have done as a person."
However, Vigouroux believes the fact he matured and was able to repair his relationship with Wellens helped lay the platform for promotion this season.
"When he [Wellens] came in here the first thing he did was reach out to me. That's all I could have asked for," he said.
"We had a really good honest chat for about two hours in a hotel and it really set me up for what was to come. I am a different person.
"I knew when we got him in the door that we should be a force to be reckoned with at this level - and we've shown it.
"We are so proud of where we have come in 14 months under this manager. He's been a breath of fresh air and someone that has managed us really well."
Vigouroux has played a key role in Orient's return to the third tier after an eight-year absence, keeping a club-record 24 clean sheets to surpass the benchmark set by Ray Goddard in the early 1970s.
"It's not just down to me," former Liverpool youngster Vigouroux said.
"We defend from the front and work so hard for each other and it's borne fruit. It is a record that I don't think will be broken for a while."
Vigouroux was named in the English Football League's team of the season for League Two, and grabbed a microphone to do some impromptu on-pitch MCing during the celebrations which followed the trophy lift after Orient's home game against Stockport County last Saturday.
"The boys have worked so hard from pre-season to culminate in this," he said.
"We are a close-knit group and I know in 30 years' time I'll be speaking to these guys."
The bond between the squad is certainly strong, with forward Paul Smyth labelling the O's as "a family".
"That's the best way to describe this club," the Irishman added. "Everyone treats each other with respect."
Back 'where Orient belong'
Leyton Orient lost the League One play-off final in 2013-14, and were relegated to the National League in 2016-17
It has been a long and winding road back to League One for Orient and their supporters, with the club staving off a winding-up petition at the High Court six years ago.
A takeover by Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti in 2014, soon after Orient had been a penalty shootout away from a place in the Championship, led to two relegations in three years and the club dropping into non-league for the first time in 102 years.
Orient have slowly rebuilt since being bought out by a consortium in 2017, with vice chairman and chief investor Kent Teague saying the club they purchased was "a disaster".
"It really is important for us to get the club back to where it was, in League One," the American told BBC Radio London.
"That's where most of our fans believe that we should be and that's where we belong."
Wellens has had his fair share of praise too, having guided Orient back to the third tier and then wrapped up the league championship with three games to spare.
"If you go back and look at Richie's points per game since he got here, it's in the elite of the elite," Teague said.
"He's far over two points per game. He's done a great job.
"Richie has a way about him. He expects success and then he delivers that. He has a tremendous rapport with players and fans."
A 'northern Justin Edinburgh'
Richie Wellens has won 34 of his 63 games in charge of Leyton Orient and delivered the club's first EFL title since their old Third Division triumph in 1969-70
Justin Edinburgh was the manager who led Orient back to the EFL, winning the National League title in 2018-19.
However, his sudden death aged 49 in June 2019 left a huge void at the east London club.
"We got that promotion and then we had the biggest kick in our guts of losing Justin," Orient director of football Martin Ling told BBC Radio London.
"It was really tough to come back from that.
"None of us had the answers and no-one knew really what to do. We did everything we felt was right and we respect Justin because he was the one that started the ball rolling.
"You have to remember he was a big part of this [League Two success]."
Three mid-table finishes in League Two followed before Orient were able to mount a sustained - and ultimately successful - push for promotion.
Ling, who himself was Orient manager between 2003 and 2009, believes Wellens is the most similar boss to Edinburgh they have found since the untimely death of the former Tottenham defender.
"The best I can say is that Richie reminds me of a 'northern Justin'," he added.
"When I go over to the training ground there is the same buzz and drive over there. There is a real determination to work hard but also a smile on everyone's face.
"It is a real good combination. Richie has been wonderful since he has been here and he won't be one to settle in League One. He'll want to do well."
That challenge awaits Wellens, who has already managed in League One during spells at Oldham Athletic, Swindon and Doncaster Rovers.
However, the 43-year-old will always have the respect and gratitude of the Orient faithful for his exploits in returning Orient to the third tier - an achievement which sparked an outpouring of emotion from players, staff and supporters.
Interviews by BBC Radio London's Phil Parry and Dave Victor.