BARRY HEARN may have been involved with the top names in Snooker, Boxing and Darts over the years but, for him, nothing compared to the feeling of finally taking Orient out of the basement division after 11 years as chairman.

Hearn has been forced to endure two play-off final defeats and a couple of flirtations with relegation during his time at Brisbane Road, but Saturday's victory at Oxford consigned all that disappointment to history.

He said: "I've had 11 years of abject failure and I've made an awful lot of mistakes. I've learned from some of them, ignored others and today I feel justified.

"It's a wonderful warm feeling and with apologies to the likes of Steve Davis, Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Lennox Lewis this is the greatest day of my life.

"In a sporting sense I've never felt such a rush of euphoria as at the final whistle and I'm so proud to be here - I don't make too many away games but I'm glad I didn't miss this one!"

Hearn was quick to praise Orient's management team of Martin Ling and assistant Dean Smith and stated that he couldn't ask for anything more from the duo.

"The acknowledgement that we've got up automatically for the first time in 36 years is just beginning to settle," Hearn continued.

"We've got good management in place, we've got the basis of a very good team and I shall spend the rest of the evening looking at cash flows and balance sheets working out how much money Martin Ling's going to need because we're ambitious.

"We've always said that but we've needed something to build on in terms of a successful season to say we can do it and now we've got that.

"I'm very happy with Martin Ling - I know it's easy to say that after you've been promoted but I'd be happy with him even if we hadn't made it because he's brought a lot to the club.

"Him and Dean Smith have been inspirational this season and it's worked for Leyton Orient."

Hearn also insisted that elevation to League One is just the first stage of his ambitions for the club and he will be pulling out the stops to ensure the O's can aim even higher.

He added: "We have aspirations of being bigger and now we have the opportunity that we've been looking for the last 11 years.

"We're going to have teams like Millwall and Brighton coming to Orient next season and we've got the Olympics so there's never going to be a better time for us to achieve our ambitions - we've got to give it every opportunity and we will do."

And Hearn also had kind words for Oxford, whose loss to the O's ended their 44-year Football League membership.

"Oxford are a big and good club with great facilities, backers and management and it's a sadness for me that our euphoria is in some way dented by their situation because they must be feeling very low," he concluded.

"I have to put myself in their position and think how I would feel and they're as big a club as we are - so it's sad for them and I really do wish them the best of luck."

Orient World subscribers can hear the full, audio version of this interview by clicking here.