[themaclad]

Head coach Richie Wellens has signed a new contract with League Two leaders Leyton Orient until the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

The 42-year-old former Doncaster boss arrived on a two-and-a-half-year deal when he joined from Salford in March.

Having steered the O's to safety last season, Wellens has guided them to a five-point lead at the top of the table after 19 games this term.

"It feels like we could achieve something special together," he said.

"For me, it was an easy decision, we now need to kick on and achieve what is our ultimate aim."

Wellens was appointed with the club 20th in League Two - only four points above the relegation zone - but after only four defeats in the last 13 games Orient finished 13th, 20 points above the bottom two.

The momentum has continued this season with 14 wins and only two defeats from 19 league matches.

Orient director of football Martin Ling called the club's form under Wellens "unbelievable".

"The way that the football side of the club now functions is second to none and we're very pleased to have him commit to us and buy into our longer-term plan," he said.

[themaclad]

Leyton Orient head coach Richie Wellens has signed a new three-year contract with the League One club.

The former Blackpool and Leicester City player joined the east Londoners in 2022 and led them to promotion from League Two in his first full season.

The O's finished 11th in the table this season, 11 points off a play-off spot.

“I’m really excited about what the next three years can bring us," he told the club's website, external.

"We have got a group of players that are young and can improve and the fact that we only finished 11 points off the play-offs with the number of injuries that we had this season excites me for the future."

Wellens played more than 700 games in his professional playing career for clubs including Blackpool, Oldham Athletic, Doncaster Rovers, Leicester, Ipswich Town, Shrewsbury Town, Salford City and Macclesfield Town.

He began his managerial career at Oldham in 2017 where he oversaw the club's relegation to League Two, before moving to Swindon Town and winning the League Two title in the Covid-19 affected 2019-20 season.

He then joined Salford City and won the delayed 2020 EFL Trophy final before a short stint at Doncaster and then a move to Orient.

The club announced yesterday they were in contract negotiations with top scorer Ruel Sotiriou.

Idris El Mizouni and Sol Brynn have returned to their parent clubs, Ipswich and Middlesbrough, after the completion of their loan deals.