Richie Wellens already looking to next season as Leyton Orient beat Walsall

Posted Sunday, April 03, 2022 by PA

Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens admitted he is already looking forward to next season after his side virtually ensured Football League safety with a 2-0 win at Walsall.

Otis Khan, who left Walsall for the O’s in January, came back to haunt his former club by setting up Harry Smith to steer home an early opener and adding a deflected second soon after.

A 15-game winless run had dragged the O’s into trouble, costing Kenny Jackett his job, but they have now won four of seven under his successor Wellens, losing just once.

“We’ve got a team that is capable of doing really well next year but we need a bigger squad,” said Wellens.

“I took a little bit of criticism on Tuesday (in defeat at Oldham), asking why I had made two changes. Because I want to see certain players in certain positions under pressure.

“There’s no point me doing it with two games to go when we are 100 per cent safe on a nice sunny afternoon at the end of April because everyone can play well in those games.

“When we get decisions like that right, it will save us a lot of money in the transfer market. I can’t make decisions on players in training, I want to put them in and among it.

“If you want to win titles, leagues or promotions, you need to play under stress and your decision-making needs to be of a consistent level.

“Today, our press and the tempo we played at was much more like us – for the first 10 minutes Walsall couldn’t get out of their own third.”

Walsall have also enjoyed a fine run under new boss Michael Flynn to move clear of danger too but he hinted at a summer clear-out after growing frustrated with defensive errors.

“It was nowhere near good enough,” Flynn said.

“There was two or three players that didn’t do their jobs and that’s even more frustrating because if they can’t do simple jobs, there’s a few playing their way firmly out of my plans.

“It doesn’t matter who they are – if I don’t think they are going to contribute to us how I want them to next season, I will do all I can to get rid of them.

“That first half stunk of a poor team and I’ve got no problem saying it. I’ve said it to the players – they need to raise their game for the next six, show that they want to be part of what we are going to do next season. It’s going to be a busy summer.

“It’s been going on all season – you can handle a game here, a game there but not for the majority of a season because that puts you in trouble.”