Club statement confirms key appointment after Newcastle United agreement claim
It was reported last month that he was set to join Newcastle United.
Scott Mitchell has been appointed Leyton Orient’s new director of football, despite reports he’d agree to join Newcastle United.
It was widely reported that Mitchell was set to leave his role as Oxford United’s head of first-team recruitment and take on the role as a senior academy scout at Newcastle.
Mitchell has left Oxford but is heading to East London, not the North East, after being announced by League One side Orient.
Scott Mitchell joins Leyton Orient despite Newcastle United reports
“Having spoken to members of the Board of Directors and Richie [Wellens], this feels like an incredibly exciting time to be joining Leyton Orient,” Mitchell told the club website.
“This club has achieved great success in recent years but what is clear to me is the desire for more. Ultimately, that is why I wanted to take this position. My role will be about laying the foundations to allow the club to achieve more sustainable success in the long term.
“I want to use my experience to help all areas of our footballing departments grow; recruitment, developing a high-performance environment, academy pathway and processes.”
Leyton Orient Chairman Nigel Travis added: “When Martin Ling left us in March, I spoke publicly and said that the Director of Football role was an area that we’d review going forwards. So why now?
“We underperformed significantly last season (2025/26) and, since we secured our League One status on the final day of the campaign, we have conducted a thorough review of our footballing operations.
“We believe that now is the correct time for a new Director of Football to come in and help drive our footballing departments forward. Scott ticks all of our boxes, in terms of having experience across the whole sporting side of a football club and has a track record of success. I am very pleased to welcome him to our club.”
Mitchell, who holds a degree in Sport and Exercise Science, had a playing career at the likes of Ipswich Town, Livingston, Peterborough United and Stevenage before becoming an academy coach with the former.
In 2014, he became Ipswich’s Head of Academy Performance Analysis before moving into the Head of Academy Recruitment role.
Mitchell then joined Wycombe Wanderers as Head of Recruitment in May 2023 and had held the same position at Oxford since December 2024.