As Richie Wellens celebrates his first anniversary in charge of Leyton Orient, it’s been quite the turnaround at Brisbane Road over the past 12 months.
This time last year the O’s were in the midst of a 13-game winless run and looking over their shoulders at the EFL trapdoor whereas now they sit top of League Two and on course for third tier football for the first time since 2015.
Shortly before taking over, Wellens viewed the club’s relegation six-pointer with Stevenage from the Brisbane Road director’s balcony as Theo Archibald’s late equaliser ended up rescuing a point for an O’s side led by caretaker manager Matt Harrold.
Reflecting on it a year on, Orient’s head coach knew he had his work cut out but also sensed a turnaround was possible.
Speaking exclusively to London Football Scene, Wellens reflected: “It was really flat. The quality on show was really poor and there was a lack of intensity.
“But I thought the week before they got a late equaliser against Colchester and then they got another late equaliser against Stevenage.
“There was clearly heart and when I looked at some of the players that were out injured, I felt there was something I could work with.
“Very rarely are you going to go into a club and everyone’s swimming in the same direction. Most of the time you’re going to go in and need to turn things around.”
And turn things around Wellens did, with 11 points from his first five games in charge to ease any potential relegation fears.
Looking back on that period, there’s one match that particularly stands out in the mind of the former Manchester United midfielder.
“I didn’t have the players I needed at Salford to play my preferred style of football and I wasn’t sure if the players here could adapt to my style quickly while in a relegation battle but the game against Harrogate proved we could.
“That was the first time I’d seen us play some really good football and we looked a level above the opposition that day.
“Those were the early signs that we could go about getting results playing in the manner we wanted to play.”
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Orient went on to finish 13th before embarking on a challenging pre-season which saw them underwhelm in friendlies and fail to beat non-league sides such as Potters Bar and Dagenham & Redbridge.
Some corners of the fanbase were becoming concerned, but Wellens never shared their doubts.
“People bluff you in pre-season. The ones that train really well and play really well in pre-season are the ones I’m always a little bit worried about”, the former Doncaster manager explains.
“The hardened professionals who go through it year-in-year-out know how to manage themselves through pre-season and when the real games hit they step it up two or three levels.”
Wellens was right to remain confident as his side began the season in remarkable form which saw them streak away at the top of League Two.
With his family still living in the Manchester area, the 42-year-old has made sacrifices in order to steer the Orient ship around and no game better encapsulates both the phenomenal start the O’s made to the campaign and their manager’s commitment to the cause than the comeback victory over Stockport in November.
“I wasn’t feeling great, I didn’t take the build-up on the Friday, I stayed away from the players and I watched the first-half from upstairs”, Orient’s head coach recalls.
“I was in a bad way but I wasn’t happy with what I saw in the first-half and I went down at half-time to let them know how I felt and let them know how we could get back into the game.
“Going in there and speaking to the players probably set me back another week, in terms of my illness.”
Following Wellens’ team talk, Leyton Orient went on to win 2-1 – becoming only the third team to beat Stockport at Edgeley Park all season in the process.
The victory highlighted the side’s adaptability as they switched mid-game to a back three formation for the first time in the campaign. And Wellens feels that sort of flexibility in their play is a key part of their success this season.
“When I was at Swindon we had one way of winning,” Wellens explains. “We’d get beat up sometimes by physical teams but then we’d also football teams to death.
“You can’t be too one dimensional and this team (Orient) can win in different ways which is really pleasing.
“Too many managers make their team about them, it’s not about me as a coach.
“You’ve got players with certain strengths so let them express themselves as long as you’re working from the same basics and values.”
Throughout their excellent first half of the season, Wellens made the point in various interviews that a poor run of form would eventually occur.
Therefore, when the O’s did go through January with just one win and one goal to their name, the fanbase and the players were suitably prepared.
It’s clear that Wellens has learned from his previous experiences as a head coach, something that his inner preparation for a bad run stems from.
“Five years ago I came in as manager of Oldham and we had a great start, it was easy for me.
“Then a new owner came in who interfered and we went through a rocky patch and I couldn’t navigate it – I let things get on top of me and my demeanour changed.
“When you go through something like that it stands you in good stead for the next situation. When we went through our rough patch I was very calm”.
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Wellens also uses last season to demonstrate that, despite Orient’s unbelievable run of form and the minor miracles he has produced in his year in charge, there is a need to still keep feet firmly on the ground.
“Everyone says that Forest Green ran away with the league last year. They won 24 games out of 46 so that means on 22 occasions that season they came away from a game not winning.
“Teams at League Two level are never going to go through a season losing three or four games.
“The bad run is going to come and what you need to do is prepare the players for it before it comes and then when it does come, remind them it was coming and deal with it the best way you know how.”
With Orient sitting eleven points clear at the top of League Two, it’d be easy for complacency to creep in. However, Wellens says “this will not be tolerated.”
Despite that, it would be remiss of him not to look ahead to next season and again, he’s using his past experiences to guide his strategy for the O’s.
“I’ve been here before with Swindon where we got promoted and we lost 80% of my starting eleven.
“It’s important to keep the majority of the squad together to keep this momentum. There’s going to be four or five players who will leave so we’ll be looking to bring in four or five players who can impact the starting eleven.
“We’re still two or three windows away from having the team that can line-up the way I want to play.”
READ MORE: Richie Wellens’ ruthless approach to squad building has Leyton Orient dreaming of promotion
With a 54.7% win ratio across his 53 matches in charge, it would be understandable if the man himself wanted to bask in the glory. Instead, when asked what he puts the success down to, he succinctly chooses the simpler humbler approach.
“I always get asked why is it going so well at Leyton Orient? Good people is the answer. Good players and staff who are good people.”
Wellens will be hoping those “good people” can finish the job and help the O’s achieve their second league title in five seasons as he looks to build his own Brisbane Road legacy.