Ritchie's surprise at Wellens' sacking - next up he's backing Bunn

Athletic club legend Andy Ritchie has spoken of his surprise at hearing the news of Richie Wellens’ sacking, and he’s backed the ex-Boundary Park manager to bounce back.

Wellens was sacked at lunchtime today (Friday), as the fall-out following Athletic’s dramatic final-day relegation from League One at the end of the 2017/18 campaign continues.

It was 38-year-old Wellens’ first job in management – which eventually lasted less than a year – but former Athletic hero and gaffer Ritchie holds a degree of sympathy for the ex-Leicester and Doncaster midfield playing star.

Former Athletic, Barnsley and Huddersfield Town manager Ritchie said: “I’m always disappointed about anybody losing their job in football, and I know how he feels – it’s not nice. I feel for Richie.

“Nothing ever shocks or surprises me in football, though.

“When I last spoke to Richie two or three weeks ago he was quite upbeat and he had received certain assurances from the owner.

“Maybe they were looking forward then, so to hear this now does surprise me a little.

“He’s just got to take this news on the chin.

“There’s nothing more certain than knowing that when you take a job in management, you’re going to get the sack.

“It’s the way of the world thesedays and unfortunately sometimes the first thing you get sorted in your contract is your pay-off.

“That shouldn’t be the way it is, but that’s the reality sometimes.

“He knows he’ll get more knocks during his coaching and management career path, but I know he’s a top coach and he wants to get on – he just has to take this on the chin.”

Ritchie has already stated who he would back to replace Wellens – his former Athletic colleague and pal Frankie Bunn.

Another Boundary Park legend, Bunn – most recently a development coach at Huddersfield Town - has been linked with the manager’s job previously, in 2016.

Ritchie - pictured above (right) with another Athletic legend, Rick Holden - said: “I think Oldham need someone with an affiliation to the club, so my vote would go to Frankie Bunn.

“I think he’d been fantastic for the role.

“He’s a former Oldham player, he knows the football club, he knows what the fans want and I believe he’d be a good appointment.

“The hierarchy do need to get this next appointment right now.

“They need to give a spark to the crowds, and they need to get players in.

“Players need stability too, they need to get themselves into an environment they know.

“They need to know what they’re doing properly, to get into a system of playing, and they need to enjoy training – that’s a massive part of management.

“I always tried to make sure players enjoyed training when I was a manager.

“Any uncertainty does create havoc at football clubs, and sometimes I think owners need to look at the bigger picture and maybe think ‘yeah, we need to give this fella a bit of a chance’."

Wellens was drafted in as caretaker manager back in September following the sacking of John Sheridan after the club experienced a nightmare start to last season in League One, leaving them without a point for the first month of the campaign.

But an unbeaten run of six games, including four wins and two draws, meant that Wellens quickly became a front runner to replace Sheridan, and he was duly handed the role on a full-time basis soon afterwards.

Despite that impressive start though, a poor January, where the club only picked up a single point, left them still in a relegation dogfight, from which they would never recover, meaning they went into the final game of the season knowing only a victory at Northampton Town would see them definitely safe.

However, their 2-2 draw, coupled with Rochdale beating Charlton Athletic, meant that it was Athletic who were relegated back to the bottom tier for the first time in decades.

Such is the nature of Football League management at present, Athletic are likely to be inundated with applications for the boss's job.

It's still too early to say who might be in the frame, however.