Former Ipswich Town loanee Richie Wellens has signed a new three-year contract as manager of League One side Leyton Orient. 

The 44-year-old joined the O's in March 2022 and led them to the League Two title in his first full season in charge.

East Anglian Daily Times: Richie Wellens celebrates with the League Two trophy last season.Richie Wellens celebrates with the League Two trophy last season. (Image: PA)

They finished 11th in the third tier this campaign, 11 points off a top-six finish. As a result, he was linked with the head coach vacancy at Barnsley, who sacked Neill Collins before securing a place in the play-offs.

However, he has signed a new deal until the summer of 2027, saying: “I’m really excited about what the next three years can bring us," 

"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."

The former midfielder made seven appearances for Town on loan from Leicester City in 2012. He started his managerial career at Oldham in 2017, where he oversaw the club's relegation to League Two. 

East Anglian Daily Times: Richie Wellens has been in charge at Leyton Orient since 2022.Richie Wellens has been in charge at Leyton Orient since 2022. (Image: PA)

Wellens then moved to Swindon Town in 2018, winning the League Two title in the Covid-19 affected 2019-20 season, before joining Salford City in November 2020, where he won the delayed 2020 EFL Trophy final.

He had a stint at Doncaster Rovers but was sacked after just 199 days in charge before being appointed manager at Orient in March 2022, winning 53 of his 116 games in charge. 

Town midfielder Idris El Mizouni has spent the last two season at Brisbane Road, making 89 appearances and scoring five goals.

The Tunisian won the Leyton Orient Supporters Club Merit Award for the 2023/24 season.