Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens has admitted he doesn’t see Salford City as his former club after the two teams were drawn together in the FA Cup second round.
The 45-year-old opted to move to the Ammies in 2020, despite guiding Swindon Town into League One the previous season. Although he later admitted that the move was made for family reasons due to the COVID pandemic, his time at the Peninsula Stadium lasted just 4 months before he left the club by mutual consent.
Wellens has sine moved on to Orient, via a short stint at Doncaster Rovers, and has enjoyed considerable success. He guided the O’s to the League Two title in 2023 and came within a whisker of a place in the Championship last season when they lost to Charlton Athletic in the play-off final in May.
Meanwhile, Salford remain in the fourth tier but look to be on course for a genuine promotion attempt. They currently sit third in the table whilst they beat League One’s Lincoln City on penalties in the FA Cup first round on Saturday.
Wellens Nonchalant After FA Cup Draw
Orient became the final team to secure their place in the FA Cup second round last night when they battled to a 1-0 win over non-league Tamworth. The draw was made before the tie, meaning the former Oldham Athletic boss was well aware of what would come next with a victory.
Full-time at The Lamb Ground and a single goal sees @leytonorientfc through to the #EmiratesFACup second round, where manager Richie Wellens will face his former club, Salford City 🤝 pic.twitter.com/BhGx0KKgAI
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) November 3, 2025
“I don’t really see (Salford) as my former club because it was Covid. I’ve obviously managed away teams there, but I’ve never managed a game in front of the supporters – a difficult time for everybody.
“Two lads – manager and assistant manager (Karl Robinson and Alex Bruce) that I know really, really well. I’ve not been back to Manchester for nearly a year, so it gives me an opportunity to spend a couple of days in Manchester, and hopefully get through to the third round.”
“Did I Enjoy Working There”
It’s not the first time that Wellens has aimed a dig at Salford. In 2022, he told The i that he wasn’t given time to make things work:
“You don’t get to make a long-term plan if you don’t first deal with the short-term. At Salford I wasn’t given any time at all [to implement a style]. I was working with a previous manager’s players, used to a totally different style to what I have.
“The decision to go to Salford was not a professional one. We were in [Covid] lockdown, I had a family back up in Manchester where we were going through our own problems. The move was for the wrong reasons.”
“I’m pleased with the team performance, we didn’t give any open play chances up” 👏
Richie Wellens reflects on tonight’s display, the challenges of playing on a 4G pitch, and facing his former club Salford in the next round.
🎙️ @LiamMacdevitt | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/AXpJnCBpir
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 3, 2025
“Did I enjoy working there? No. I have certain standards, certain disciplines I think need to be in place in a football club, things any manager will tell you they need. I didn’t think they had them at Salford. When I was working in that kind of environment, I couldn’t enjoy it.
“I worked with a wonderful chairman, Lee Power, at Swindon. He let me run the football club, every decision was by me. It was all done with clarity and decisiveness. I was allowed to go with my gut.
“Then I walked into a situation where Gary Neville was the chairman with the Class of ’92 behind him. I didn’t handle that situation as best I could. Did I make mistakes? Absolutely. Could I have handled Gary differently and had better lines of communication? We could both have done.”
Despite his short time at Salford, Wellens did win the club their first major piece of silverware by winning the EFL Trophy in 2021.
