FORMER West Ham legend Tony Cottee has pulled his shooting boots back on for Leyton Orient.

And while the Brisbane Road faithful would probably have relished seeing his appointment four weeks ago include a playing role, it will only be the club's forwards who will benefit from his vast experience in his new role as a striking coach.

Cottee, who has mainly been doing media work since retiring last season, admitted that the offer of his new one day a week post was a bit of a surprise.

He said: "I was a team mate with Paul Brush at West Ham for many years, and we have done various coaching things together as well, but it came a bit out of the blue when I got a phone call six weeks asking me to come and do a bit of work with the forwards."

So what exactly does a striking coach do and how does he rate the standard of the strikers at the club?

"I have only done three sessions with the players, but have been very impressed by the standard and there are definitely some good young forwards at the club," confirmed Cottee.

"We have been working on all aspects of forward play, including the link-up between the two first team strikers and anyone else who is a forward at the club comes and joins in.

"I try and drum into them things like the trimming of runs, creating space, holding the ball up and then obviously their finishing techniques, but it is up to the individual to take this on board.

"And while I have been working with them I have told them that it doesn't matter what I did in my career. All I am trying to do is pass on the information and the experiences I learnt."

One such experience is overcoming barriers like height, because Cottee, who is just 5ft 7ins, admits: "I had people throughout my career telling me that I was too small, but I just had to prove them all wrong.

"I was talking to the players the other day about heading the ball and while I was never going to just out-jump a defender if you could time your leap well you could actually beat a taller player in the air."

Young striker Aaron McLean, who is just an inch taller than the former England striker, confirms this: "Tony has helped me out a lot and he has shown me little tricks of how to find space and hold the ball up when you are playing against big defenders.

"A lot of things have changed since Paul Brush became manager, and this is just one of the things that has been done for the better."

So does Cottee think his new coaching role will become a regular feature at other clubs?

"Why not? We have had goalkeeping coaches for many years, and Crystal Palace have just appointed Ian Wright in a similar position.

"It is a specialised job and I think it is the way forward, which shows good vision by Paul Brush, because I would certainly have liked the chance to work with an experienced striker when I was a youngster."

Talking of age, is there any chance of him being coaxed out of retirement?

"If there was an almighty crisis Brushie might say that I have to play, but I would much rather see a 17-year-old thrown into the team than an ageing 36-year-old who use to be a good player."