Orient and Embleton went their separate ways after the club’s 3-1 loss to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday. The loss left Orient in 14th place in the league eight points adrift of the play-off places.
Nigel Travis, Leyton Orient’s chairman confirmed then that McAnuff would fill in until further notice.
"Jobi is a natural leader and someone we feel has got what it takes to make a top-class manager," he told Skysports.
The 39-year-old McAnuff made 166 appearances for Leyton Orient over two spells – from 2014-2016 and from 2017.
McAnuff made 32 international appearances for Jamaica between 2002 and 2016.
After fans had gone on to the pitch to alert the referee to the medical emergency in the East Stand, the match was halted in the 82nd minute and eventually abandoned.
The London Ambulance Service confirmed on Wednesday morning that despite extensive treatment and the combined efforts at the scene – which included an incident response officer, two medics in fast-response cars and an ambulance crew – the 74-year-old man had later been pronounced dead.
On Wednesday afternoon, Orient revealed plans to pay tribute to Reynolds at Saturday’s home game against Reading, with his family invited as guests of the club.
A book of condolence will be available for supporters in the East Stand to sign on Saturday, and then afterwards for all fans in West Stand reception.
“Leyton Orient Football Club is devastated to confirm that supporter Derek Reynolds has passed away,” a club statement read.
“Derek, 74, became unwell at Brisbane Road during Tuesday evening’s league fixture against Lincoln City.
“Despite the best efforts of Derek’s fellow supporters and medical professionals from the club’s on-site paramedics and doctors, Lincoln City and the London Ambulance Service, he sadly lost his life.
“Derek was a lifelong O’s supporter and he lived in Osbourne Road, a short walk from the ground, for many years. As well as being a lifelong fan, Derek was heavily involved in the club and managed the club’s tannoy system during the 1990s.
“The club will be paying tribute to Derek at Saturday’s home fixture against Reading and his family have been invited to the game as guests of the club.
“We would, once again, like to thank Derek’s fellow supporters for the way in which they conducted themselves on Tuesday night and acted to try and help the situation.”
Lincoln also passed on the club’s condolences.
“The thoughts of everyone connected with Lincoln City are with the family of the Leyton Orient supporter Derek Reynolds who passed away during Tuesday night’s game at Brisbane Road,” the Imps said in a post on social media.
Orient were leading 1-0 when the game was stopped, through an early goal from Joe Pigott.
The English Football League will determine whether the fixture will be rescheduled, or if the result at the time of the abandonment will stand. The decision will be taken only after consultation with both clubs.
Guidance is in place for clubs if a supporter becomes unwell in a stadium, with local circumstances determining the action taken.
It is strongly advised the nearest steward is made aware, who will ensure the crowd medical team is notified and that appropriate care is provided.
Then should a situation arise where there is a need for the match to be halted, a decision will be taken between the crowd medical team, the ground safety team and the match officials, with the information relayed to the supporters at the ground. The EFL will also be informed at this point.
All clubs have a matchday medical plan with dedicated crowd medical teams in the stadium, ready to assist at any point during the game.
The 31-year-old midfielder, who spent the final year of his career as player-coach for EFL League Two outfit Leyton Orient, played his final game against Carlise, on May 1, which ended in a 3-2 home defeat for Orient.
McAnuff, who also played 32 games for the Jamaica national team, believes the time had simply come to hang up his boots.
“After 20 seasons and nearly 800 career games, the time has finally come to announce my retirement,” McAnuff said via social media platform Instagram.
“It’s been a tough decision, but my body and mind have finally had enough of the rigours of day-to-day football and I definitely feel now is the right time to hang the boots up,” he added.
“I’ve put in a lot of work over the last few years to make sure I was as prepared as I could be for this day and I look forward confidently and excitedly to the next phase of my professional life.”
Despite having taken over as coach for Orient’s final 16 fixtures, while also playing in midfield, McAnuff will not be continuing on as the team’s coach. Orient finished in 11th position.
McANuff the club captain, will be 39 years old later this year and transitioned to a player/coach role last season. He will be in a similar capacity this year but despite being the senior statesman of sorts is determined to be more than just a passenger on the pitch.
“I don’t just want to be a bit part or be here for the ride, I want to contribute, that’s a big, big thing for me,” McAnuff said in an interview with the club’s official website.
“I’m feeling good,” he added.
“Last year, as everyone knows, was frustrating. I worked really hard to get back to playing, and I’ve got a lot of work again to get to the level I want to get to.”
The injury kept McAnuff out of action for almost the entire season, not playing his first match until March. Orient coach Ross Embleton is confident the Jamaica midfielder will be a major contributor both on and off the pitch – and is delighted to see him stay.
“He’s been at the club since I came back, and we all know what an inspiration he is on the pitch,” Embleton said.
McAnuff has made 141 appearances for the O’s in two spells.
Makama had been on the pitch for just a handful of minutes when he earned the Imps maximum points as they stretched their unbeaten run to 14 matches and dealt a major blow to Orient’s own play-off hopes.
Orient had the game’s first chance after six minutes, with Imps goalkeeper Lukas Jensen alert to tip Darren Pratley’s snapshot over the bar.
The game turned niggly, with little goalmouth action at either end, before Jordan Brown fired narrowly wide for the visitors after 29 minutes and then Ruel Sotiriou and Shaq Forde both fired straight at Jensen.
City finally managed their first shot of the match five minutes before the break when Joe Taylor ran on to Danny Mandroiu’s quick free-kick but blazed wildly wide.
It took 21 minutes of the the second half for either side to have an effort on goal, with Taylor stabbing an effort into the ground and wide.
Ollie O’Neill headed Rob Hunt’s inch-perfect cross narrowly over at the other end before Imps sub Freddie Draper finally had the hosts’ first shot on target after 76 minutes, his effort easily gobbled up by Sol Brynn.
Orient sub Ethan Galbraith nearly won it late on, his low drive bringing out an excellent diving save from Jensen.
But City did produce a winner when Makama did brilliantly to first block an attempted clearance and then collect the ball and curl a low shot into the bottom corner.
