Russell Slade is the best managerial appointment Charlton could have made, according to former Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn.

The pair worked together at Brisbane Road for four years from 2010  - and the sports promoter says Slade was his greatest manager.

Ex-Cardiff boss Slade signed a three-year Valley deal on Monday, with owner Roland Duchatelet giving him the ‘manager’ title, as opposed to ‘head coach’.

Speaking from Las Vegas, Hearn told News Shopper: “I’m going to drop Roland Duchatelet a line to congratulate him on making the best appointment he could've possibly made. 

“In all my 20 years in football, the best manager I ever had was Russell Slade, without a doubt. 

News Shopper: Russell Slade believes the O's are playing without the "fear factor." Picture: Action Images

Russell Slade

“Not just because he’s honest but because he’s tirelessly hardworking and professional in everything he does.”

Hearn, 67, added: “I had the greatest time with Russell  - he couldn't have been better, he couldn't have delivered more and he certainly couldn't have put more effort in. 

“Football isn't easy but it does help if you've got the work ethic that Russell Slade has got. 

“He’s an outstanding manager and I think they've just made the best appointment.”

Slade was poached by Cardiff in October 2014 and finished 8th in the Championship last season, with a transfer embargo in force since January.

He was moved to a new role as head of football at the end of the campaign, but left the post after just 28 days.

Snooker supremo Hearn, who sold Leyton Orient in July 2014, says Slade was a workaholic, always looking to improve the team.

News Shopper: Orient chairman Barry Hearn. Picture: Action Images

Barry Hearn

“The fact he left Cardiff because he didn't want to go upstairs, shows he is a hands-on football man”, the multi-millionaire said.

“He’s constantly working - when he was with me, I don't think he ever had a night in.

“I’d call him and he’d be watching a player somewhere, somehow - he’s just in love with football.

“Russell’s totally committed and he’ll bring a work ethic to those Charlton players that they've never had before because he’s a 100 per cent believer in fitness above everything else.”

Despite the ex-Yeovil boss working with a shoestring budget, the O's were a penalty kick away from reaching the Championship in 2014.

The 55-year-old won the Manager of the Year award for the 2013/14 season at Orient.

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And Hearn, chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation, sees Charlton now achieving more promotions than relegations.

He said: “A lot of it [nowadays] is out of the managers’ hands as it depends on what kind of backing they get from the chairman and the board. 

“But, in my case, Russell had the meanest chairman in England and wasn’t given any money and he still nearly got me into the bloody Championship with a budget of £1.4m for the whole squad.

“Now, that would've been one of the greatest achievements of all time in today’s world of football.”

He added: “If he gets a reasonable amount of backing from the chairman, which I think he will, then I don't see any reason why Charlton won't start getting promotions rather than relegations.”

Tomorrow: Barry Hearn’s warning to Roland Duchatelet.