Wellens began his career at Manchester United before signing for Blackpool in 2000, where he went on to win promotion from League Two via the playoffs in 2001. In 2005, he left to join Oldham Athletic, where he made 87 appearances in two seasons at the club, before moving to Doncaster in 2007, becoming an instant fans' favourite by helping get the club promoted to the Championship for the first time in 50 years. After helping the club stay in the division, he moved to Leicester City, and during his time he won the club's Player of the Year in 2011. After a short loan spell with Ipswich Town, Wellens rejoined Doncaster in 2013, where he spent a further three years. Towards the end of his career, he had a short return to Oldham, before playing for Shrewsbury Town, and non-league clubs Salford City and Macclesfield Town, his final club before retiring in 2017.
Wellens' first role in management came when he returned to Oldham as first team manager from September 2017 to June 2018, when he was sacked following the club's relegation to League Two. Wellens then took over the vacant managerial position at Swindon Town in the summer of 2018, eventually leading the club to the 2019–20 League Two title on PPG during the COVID-19 pandemic. He left Swindon to manage League Two team Salford City in November 2020, but lasted less than six months in charge before being sacked, having won the rearranged 2019–20 EFL Trophy. In May 2021 Wellens became manager of Doncaster.
In 2005, he left Blackpool for his local side Oldham Athletic, with Scott Vernon going the other way.[8] This was done to bypass the 50% sell-on clause that Manchester United had added during Wellens' transfer to the Seasiders.[9] In summer 2007, after turning down an improved contract offered by Oldham, he signed a two-year contract with fellow League One side Doncaster Rovers.[10] Wellens made the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08 League One PFA Team of the Year. Overall, he made 101 appearances and scored 8 times for Oldham. Wellens has made the claim in an interview with Look Sports Media that he was not paid during the final six months of his time at the club "I think by the time I was sacked by Oldham, I hadn't been paid for six months. I ended up getting it [payment] but I said I'll wait and make sure you pay the players that are due it. It was difficult but I do look back on it and it was a massive learning curve."[11]
Doncaster Rovers
Wellens was a member of the Doncaster side that gained promotion to the Championship in 2007–08. His midfield performances brought him several individual awards, several key goals and helped the team gain promotion. His first competitive goal for Doncaster was in August 2007 in the Football League Cup with the second strike in a 4–1 victory over Lincoln City; however, this wasn't the first time he had hit the back of the net for Doncaster: in his very first appearance in a Donny shirt, Wellens chipped the ball over the opposition goalkeeper and into the net from 40 yards in a pre-season friendly against non-league Retford United. Wellens made 97 appearances, scoring 10 times, during his spell with Doncaster prior to his £1 million move to Leicester City.
Leicester City
Wellens and Steve Howard playing for Leicester City in June 2010
On 7 July 2009, Wellens joined Leicester City for a potential fee of £1.2 million, signing a three-year contract.[12] Their biggest signing of the summer, Wellens was named by the BBC Sport as the club's key player for the 2009–10 season.[13] He made his debut in a 2–1 win over Swansea City on 8 August 2009,[14] scoring his first goal in a 2–0 win over Middlesbrough on 2 May 2010.[15] Wellens featured in all but three matches for Leicester in the Championship that season. He played a crucial role in Nigel Pearson's team that reached the play-offs semi-finals, where they lost to Cardiff City on penalties.[16]
During the 2011–12 season, Wellens ended the season, back under the returning Nigel Pearson, with 46 appearances in all competitions and captaining the side 19 times, but his season ended early when he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury, ruling him out of action for six months.[19] On 4 October, Wellens joined Ipswich Town a one-month loan deal,[20] and returned to Leicester after an "impressive" seven game spell.[21]
On 23 July 2013, Wellens left Leicester City by mutual consent, having played a total of 149 games and scoring 6 goals over his four seasons with them.[22]
Return to Doncaster Rovers
On 2 August, Wellens signed a short-term contract with former club Doncaster Rovers.[23] Having started five of Doncaster's first six games, Wellens extended his contract until January 2014.[24]
At the end of the season, he expected to leave the club following a collapsed takeover of the club,[25] but signed a new two-year deal at the beginning of September.[26] He admitted later that it was a mistake rejoining the club "I think I was a little bit naive going in there in the first place. My head was telling me no but my heart was telling me yes"[27]
Shrewsbury Town
Wellens joined Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer in January 2016, signing an 18-month contract.[28] Having helped Shrewsbury to safety in League One, making twelve appearances in the second half of the 2015–16 season, he was made available on a free transfer less than five months later with manager Micky Mellon unable to guarantee him first-team football.[29] He left in August after having game time limited.[30]
On 4 July 2017, Wellens returned to Oldham Athletic as a first-team coach.[34] Following the departure of John Sheridan on 25 September, Wellens was put in charge of Oldham Athletic on an caretaker basis, with his first game in charge being a 3–2 win against Peterborough United.[35] Wellens said he was ready to be a manager, and hoped he and the club could adopt an approach for long-term success.[36] After a five-match unbeaten run, he was appointed manager on a permanent basis on 18 October 2017 on a two-year contract, following a recommendation from Paul Scholes.[37] He was dismissed on 8 June 2018 after Oldham's relegation to League Two.[38] Wellens admitted it was "the right time" to part ways,[39] and admitted he had made mistakes that he hoped to learn from for a future managerial role.[40]
Swindon Town
On 13 November 2018, Wellens was appointed manager of League Two side Swindon Town following the sacking of Phil Brown.[41] His first game in charge was a 4–0 home defeat to Carlisle United, described as "the worst possible start".[42] Wellens secured his first win as manager a week later, with a goal from Elijah Adebayo giving his side a 1–0 away win to Port Vale,[43] and his first home victory came three days later, when academy graduate Sol Pryce scored twice on his league début to help Swindon win 3–2 against Stevenage.[44] Wellens would guide Swindon to a 13th-place finish, ending the season with a 3–1 comeback victory against Notts County, who were relegated out of the Football League for the first time in their 157-year history as a result.[45]
In the 2019–20 season, Wellens won the League Two title with Swindon Town on PPG during the global COVID-19 pandemic after the season was called off in March.
Salford City
On 4 November 2020, Wellens was appointed as the new manager of his former club Salford City, now playing in League Two.[46][47] The first game of Wellens' reign came on 7 November, with a 2–0 win against Hartlepool in the FA Cup first round at Moor Lane, courtesy of goals from Bruno Andrade and Emmanuel Dieseruvwe in extra-time.[48] Wellens suffered his first loss as Salford manager in his first league game in charge, a 2–0 loss against Bolton Wanderers the following week.[49][50] His first league win came on 21 November against Bradford City, a 3–0 league victory with two goals from Luke Burgess and another from Ian Henderson.[51] On 13 March 2021, Wellens guided Salford to victory in the delayed 2020 EFL Trophy Final, with a 4–2 penalty shootout victory after a 0–0 draw with Portsmouth.[52] On 22 March 2021, it was announced that he and the club had parted company by mutual consent.
Doncaster Rovers
On 17 May 2021, Wellens was appointed manager of League One club Doncaster Rovers.[53] On 2 December 2021, Wellens was sacked by Doncaster after just 199 days in charge with the club sitting 23rd in the table with the club having picked up just thirteen points from nineteen matches.[54]
Leyton Orient
On 9 March 2022, Wellens was appointed head coach of the historic East London League Two club Leyton Orient on a two-and-a-half year deal. At the time of his appointment, Orient were sitting in 20th position, four points clear of safety with eleven matches remaining.[55]
An unbeaten start to the 2022–23 season saw Wellens win the EFL League Two Manager of the Month award for August 2022, his side sitting top of the league with the most goals scored and fewest conceded.[56] A 100% record across September saw Wellens win the award for the second consecutive month.[57]
Wellens masterfully steered the club to promotion at the top of EFL League Two, which it achieved on 18 April 2023.[58]
Approach and philosophy
Wellens favours his teams to play attacking football, believing long ball and defensive minded football to not be suitable to long-term success.[59] He cites former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson as a major influence on his approach.[59] Using a preferred formation of 4-2-3-1,[60] Wellens likes his teams to play out from the back and be patient,[61] Wellens likes his player to maintain a high level of intensity, even during training sessions.[62]
Personal life
Wellens' son, Charlie, is also a footballer who is currently contracted to Reading.[63]
^Gillatt, Peter (30 November 2009). Blackpool FC On This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN978-1-905411-50-4.
