Richie Wellens told to avoid "nightmare" Leyton Orient transfer situation | OneFootball

The O's are preparing for another season in the third tier of English football.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Leyton Orient are preparing to mount another promotion push next season following the heartbreak of their League One play-off final defeat in May.

The O's recovered well after a poor start to the 2024/25 season and managed to end the season sixth in League One, which was their highest league finish in more than a decade and gave them an opportunity to try and win promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1982.

However, unfortunately for Richie Wellens' side, they were unable to step up when it mattered at Wembley, with Macaulay Gillesphey's first-half free-kick proving to be enough for Charlton Athletic to come out victorious in the play-off final at their expense.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Orient, considering they went into the final on the back of a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions, and it may be difficult for them to carry that momentum into next season with key loan players having returned to their parent clubs.

The supporters will take confidence from the fact that Wellens has penned a new three-year deal this summer, so there is every chance that he will be able to once again build a successful team at League One level and compete for a long-awaited promotion to the Championship.

Orient must complete their business in time for August

As Orient prepare for another season in League One, we asked our O's fan pundit, Alex Rose, what would be a nightmare scenario for the club during the summer transfer window, and he made it clear that they must learn from previous mistakes.

"A nightmare scenario would be leaving it too late," Alex said.

"I think we will get the players that we want because we have got new ownership and Richie Wellens has just signed a new three-year deal.

"You don't buy a Ferrari and put £20 worth of petrol in it, so I do think we will be making some statement signings in the next few weeks.

"In the last few windows we have left it really late, and that has meant that, for the last two seasons, we have basically not picked up a point until the fifth or sixth game of the season, which has really held us back. We have also had to take on too many loanees.

"A nightmare situation would be leaving it too late, losing the first four or five games of the season, and once again having too many loanees, which would mean we don't have any valuable assets of our own."

Orient should have learned a lot from last season

While their loanees almost helped them win promotion to the Championship, Orient are now without several key players from their starting eleven last season as they prepare for the upcoming 2025/26 campaign.

Josh Keeley, Jamie Donley and Charlie Kelman all played important roles during the O's run to the League One play-off final last term, but they have now returned to their parent clubs, leaving Wellens with work to do to ensure he has enough quality at his disposal to go one better next term, and perhaps encouraging him to focus on permanent additions to avoid a repeat scenario this time next year.

Orient lost each of their opening four league games last term, which makes it easy to understand why Alex wants to see them complete all their business in time for the start of the 2025/26 campaign, and should have given them the necessary experience to suitably prepare for a successful season this summer.