Justin Edinburgh

A defender, usually employed as a left-back, Edinburgh started his career as a trainee with Southend United, turning professional in August 1988. He helped the Shrimpers win promotion from the Football League Fourth Division in 1990. In all competitions he played 47 games for the seaside club, scoring one goal. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £150,000 in January 1990, initially on loan. He joined Spurs permanently in July 1990, making his debut for them on 10 November 1990, as a substitute in a 4–2 win at home to Wimbledon. He played for Spurs for most of the 1990s. He won an FA Cup winner's medal in 1991 despite just previously starting only 12 league games. He would also win a League Cup winner's medal with Spurs, in 1999. This second medal was awarded to Edinburgh despite his being sent off in the final for raising his arms to Robbie Savage, as the post-match analysis showed that Savage had distinctly over-reacted to a minimal contact and that the red card was unjustly awarded. In total, he made 213 league appearances for Tottenham, scoring once. Edinburgh left London for Portsmouth in March 2000 for a fee of £175,000, playing 35 league games over the next two years, scoring once against Sheffield United. However, he did not play a single competitive game during Portsmouth's Division One title winning campaign (2002–03), and joined non-league Billericay Town as player-manager in July 2003.

Early career

In January 2006, he left Billericay to become manager of semi-professional club Fisher Athletic. Fisher finished third in the Isthmian League Premier Division in season 2005–06 and beat Hampton & Richmond 3–0 in the play-off final to win promotion to Conference South. Edinburgh left Fisher by mutual consent in November 2006. He subsequently joined Grays Athletic as assistant manager to Andy King in December 2006, and took over as manager on 5 January 2007 after King's resignation. However, Edinburgh's first match in charge ended in disappointment as his team lost 3–1 to Southport. His reign as manager of Grays Athletic came to an end on 20 February 2008, when his contract was terminated by mutual consent, leaving the club 14th in the Conference Premier. On 9 April 2008 it was announced that Edinburgh would become Colin Lippiatt's assistant at Woking following the departure of Frank Gray and Gerry Murphy.

Rushden & Diamonds

In October 2008, Edinburgh became assistant manager to Garry Hill at Conference Premier club Rushden & Diamonds. On 10 February 2009 he was appointed as caretaker manager following Hill's resignation and on 24 April 2009, Edinburgh was appointed manager on a permanent basis. He guided the team to a fourth-placed finish in the 2009–10 season securing a play-off spot within the Conference Premier but they were unable to reach the Conference Play-off Final at Wembley after lacklustre performances in both games of the two legged…

Edinburgh had two children with his wife Kerri. He owned two Toni & Guy hair salon franchises with his business partner, Jim Shaw. On 3 June 2019, Edinburgh went into sudden cardiac arrest. He died at Basildon University Hospital five days later, aged 49. Leyton Orient announced a period of mourning and opened the stadium to allow supporters to leave tributes.

As a player

Tottenham Hotspur

FA Cup: 1990–91 Football League Cup: 1998–99 FA Charity Shield: 1991 (shared)

As a manager

Newport County

Conference Premier play-offs: 2013 FA Trophy runner-up: 2011–12 Leyton Orient

National League: 2018–19 FA Trophy runner-up: 2018–19

Individual

Conference Premier/National League Manager of the Month: April/May 2013, November 2018, March 2019 Leyton Orient Hall of Fame Newport County Hall of Fame