Leyton Orient He was appointed manager of Leyton Orient in December 2003, after a spell as caretaker manager. In the
2005–06 league campaign he guided Orient to automatic promotion from
League Two on the final day of the season, and then successfully kept the club in League One in the following season. The following season, Ling was able to bring Leyton Orient to 14th position in League One, after topping the table for three months early in the season. On 18 January 2009, with Leyton Orient in 21st place and in the relegation zone, the decision was taken for Ling and his assistant
Dean Smith to leave the club by mutual consent. After leaving Orient, Ling was hired by
Hibernian to set up a network of scouts in England for the
Scottish Premier League club, while also identifying players himself. In May 2009, he unsuccessfully applied for the vacant managerial position at
Port Vale.
Cambridge United In July 2009, Ling was appointed the manager of
Cambridge United in the
Conference National, succeeding
Gary Brabin who despite a successful first season had left the club due to differences with the club's chairman, George Rolls. However, after only eight days at Cambridge, Ling resigned on 4 August 2009 citing irreconcilable differences with Rolls. Cambridge United started the new season under the caretaker stewardship of
Paul Carden, but after chairman Rolls left the club on 5 August 2009, Ling said he would be keen to return as manager. On 12 August, sixteen days after his initial appointment, Ling was reappointed as Cambridge manager with Carden as assistant. The Cambridge board praised his honesty, integrity and strength of character during the period between his resignation and reappointment. However, things took a dramatic turn for the worse when the club failed to win a league game between 31 October 2009 and 6 March 2010, which left them in the relegation zone in 21st place. A good end to the season – Cambridge won 9 of the final 14 games – saw Ling guide the club out of the relegation battle to a 10th-place finish. and began to rebuild the squad in time for the upcoming season with the signings of a number of players including former
Histon players Danny Wright and
Danny Naisbitt in May 2010, as well as talented youngster Jai Reason. The signings of
Conal Platt,
Adam Miller (who reportedly turned down interest from
League One sides
Sheffield Wednesday and
Bradford City to join the club), and veteran striker
Daryl Clare, who arrived for a fee of £10,000, the signing led Ling to claim that his squad was all-but complete. The season started really badly, however, with no win coming until the 6th game, at home to
Eastbourne Borough. Despite a short
FA Cup run, which ended in a 2–1 First Round replay at League One
Huddersfield Town, following a televised 0–0 at the
Abbey, Ling's signings generally struggled on and off the field. After four consecutive losses, including to lowly
Hayes & Yeading, the board were forced to issue a vote of confidence in Ling's management. Despite this, the club's poor form continued. Following a goalless draw with
Histon, there were chants of "Ling Out". However Ling refused to quit, stating "they [the fans] can moan all they like, but I'm going nowhere". Ling was sacked by the Cambridge United board after a further run of four straight defeats. Martin Ling unsuccessfully applied for the
Grimsby Town managerial vacancy a month later.
Torquay United He was appointed
Torquay United manager on 13 June 2011 after the departure of
Paul Buckle to
Bristol Rovers. With Buckle taking goalkeeper
Scott Bevan and forward
Chris Zebroski with him to the
Memorial Stadium, Ling made moves for strikers
Rene Howe and
Taiwo Atieno, midfielders
Chris McPhee and
Ian Morris, defenders
Brian Saah,
Daniel Leadbitter and
Joe Oastler, and goalkeepers
Bobby Olejnik and
Martin Rice. Ling's first game in charge of United was the 2–1 friendly win over
Tiverton Town. His new-look Torquay side had a good pre-season, winning against
Exeter City,
Bristol City,
Truro City and
Weston-super-Mare as well as Tiverton, and losing just once, to
Burnley. Ling also had a good start in
League Two, drawing against
Burton Albion on the opening day of the season before recording away wins at Bristol Rovers and
Aldershot Town, leaving Torquay fourth in the table after three league games. On 2 January 2012, Ling guided
Torquay United to a 2–1 win over
Plymouth Argyle at
Home Park; having beaten
the Pilgrims 3–1 at
Plainmoor earlier in the season, this ensured a first double win over
Plymouth Argyle since 1972. Although they occupied an automatic promotion spot on several occasions towards the end of the season, a late loss of form – which saw United fail to win any of their last five league fixtures – meant that Torquay had to settle for a play-off place. The club was drawn to play
Cheltenham Town in the play-off semi-finals, and, following a 2–0 loss at
Whaddon Road, a 2–1 reverse in the home leg at
Plainmoor condemned Torquay to another year in
League Two. Ling made a number of transfers ahead of the
2012–13 season, releasing forward
Taiwo Atieno, defenders
Lathaniel Rowe-Turner and Ed Palmer; signing
Craig Easton,
Ryan Jarvis,
Nathan Craig,
Michael Poke and
Aaron Downes on free transfers; and purchasing
Billy Bodin from
Swindon Town for £70,000 – just £5,000 less than Torquay's record fee paid, for
Leon Constantine in 2004. Torquay also sold Olejnik to
Peterborough United for £300,000, defender
Mark Ellis to
Crewe Alexandra for £80,000, and midfielder
Eunan O'Kane to
AFC Bournemouth for £150,000. Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Ling targeted an automatic promotion berth, telling
BBC Radio Devon: "I would set my sights at the top three with the play-offs as the safety ... if you don't set out to finish where the success lies, you're selling yourself short." Opening their league campaign with a 0–0 draw at newly promoted
Fleetwood Town, Torquay drew four of their first five fixtures, their other early result a 4–2 win over
Rochdale. After taking the Torquay job, Ling wrote a weekly column in the local newspaper
Herald Express, covering both his playing and managerial career as well as sport in general. On 28 January 2013 Assistant Shaun Taylor led Torquay to victory away at Exeter City, with Ling away suffering from an illness. It was from this point that Ling commenced a four-month absence from the club to receive treatment for depression. In his absence
Alan Knill was appointed caretaker manager until such time as Ling was fit to resume his post. On 29 April 2013 Torquay United controversially announced that it would be terminating Ling's contract with immediate effect, saying that "the decision is based purely on footballing grounds, after falling from play-off contenders last season to just escaping relegation this time around, and early exits in all three cup competitions." However the club thanked Ling for his work over the last two years and wished him every success in the future.
Swindon Town On 3 November 2015, Ling was named as manager of League One side
Swindon Town, a club he had two spells with as a player. However, Ling resigned on 29 December 2015 for health reasons.
Return to Leyton Orient On 23 June 2017 Ling was named as director of football of Conference side
Leyton Orient On 6 March 2026, it was announced that Ling had left his role as Director of Football at the club. ==Personal life==