HE may be a Yorkshireman, but Leighton Town manager Craig Wells feels at home in Bedfordshire and is determined to help make the club an integral part of the local community – starting by winning football matches.
The 41-year-old is Sheffield born and bred, but moved south for work 12 years ago and soon found himself supporting another club who play in red and white stripes.
The former Northern Premier League centre half – most notably for Sheffield FC and Buxton – began his playing days with his beloved Sheffield United, but is now part of the furniture in Leighton Buzzard where he has become a proud father of three.
And it was through his young son that Wells joined the path to becoming Sean Downey’s successor at Bell Close, starting by coaching youngsters at Leighton United before gaining his UEFA ‘B’ License.
And it wasn’t long before he caught the eye of Downey who handed Wells his first big break by allowing him to take regular training sessions, first with the U18 side, then the reserves and soon the first team.
From there he never looked back, and when Downey called time on his reign as Leighton boss, Wells became the obvious choice to replace him, assisted by Richard Batten who also worked his way through the club’s junior ranks after successful spells coaching at Rushden & Diamonds and home town club Luton Town.
The duo have big ideas when it comes to coaching, and certainly aren’t afraid to get technical to make the best of what resources they’ve got. The club’s playing budget is generally considered one of the smallest in the Southern League, and so Wells is determined to get an advantage wherever possible.
They study DVDs of past matches and the opposition, and are often found knee deep in statistics relating to their players’ performances that then dictate how their next training session will go.
Wells explained: “In our first game in charge against North Greenford United, they scored a 92nd minute equaliser to draw the game 1-1 and we couldn’t believe it. But looking back at the DVD after the game, we quickly realised that there were reasons behind what happened, and we went away to work on them in training.
“Match analysis is a huge part of what we do. We can’t compete with most clubs when it comes to how much we can pay players, but we can make the best of our situation. After every game we compile a detailed set of statistics regarding each player’s pass, head, tackle and run rate, and the team benefits from the feedback.
“Rather than just shouting at people to do what they’re doing better, we’re trying to offer them a solution and the statistical analysis we offer helps.”
As a former centre half, Wells has made tightening up Leighton’s defence one of his main priorities, and three clean sheets in a row before Saturday’s trip to Rugby certainly suggests the corner may have been turned.
But Wells is determined to do his bit for the club off the field too, and has echoed chairman Richard Graham’s sentiments of wanting it to become an integral part of the community.
He said: “I come from a real football city and while Leighton is a lot smaller place, it has lots going for it and I want everyone to know about the football club and the good work we’re trying to do.
“There are lots of good people working hard to improve the club, and we want to continue building links with other sports and social clubs in the area.
“It’s also the club’s policy to bring our young players through the ranks as much as possible. We often have U18 players in the first team squad and we try to make sure that the junior and reserve sides play their football in the same way as the first team so the players coming up can make that transition even quicker.”
Wells and Batten have undoubtedly had a positive impact on results and the mood around the club after a tough first half of the season. But the new man in charge has admitted that accepting the offer to take over from Downey wasn’t an easy decision to make, and he’s pleased to have Town’s new director of football available to offer advice when he needs it.
“We’re still only eight games into the job and if I have my head in my hands over certain things then it’s good to know that Sean is there to help out,” said Wells.
“We have a great relationship and I have a lot to thank Sean for. He let me come in and take training sessions, but when the chance to take over from him came up it was a big decision.
“People don’t realise how much time it can take up, and with a young family and other commitments it can be hard work at times. I probably spend about half my days on the phone with players.
“But I wouldn’t change anything. Since my first day in Leighton everyone has been great to me. From the people who gave me my chance to coach the kids at Leighton United, to Sean giving me the chance to manage the team, I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Incredibly, Wells still finds the time to coach Leighton United’s U9s, who joined him on the Bell Close pitch for Leighton’s recent home game against Daventry. And it’s those kind of links that he’s excited to build in the weeks and months ahead. But he’s also aware that Town still have plenty of work to do this season as they aim to retain their place in Division One Central.
“You have to have confidence in yourself and those around you,” he said. “I’m really pushing the guys hard in training and the results so far have been good. But there’s always room for improvement and as we continue to learn I’m sure we’ll do that.
“I want to be as open and honest with everyone as I can be and I’ll always try to call it how I see it. We’ve got some quality players here and with lots of hard work we can continue the excellent job that Sean has done.”
>> Unfortunately Wells’ latest game in charge didn’t quite go to plan as Leighton lost 3-0 away to Rugby Town on Saturday, ending their four-game unbeaten run.
Three basic defensive errors from Town cost them three cheap goals and against a strong Rugby team they were left chasing the game from the 13th minute.
On a decent but hard pitch both sides tried to pass the ball around, and the early tempo from the visitors was good. In fact they might have taken the lead in the very first minute when Charlie Cunningham’s shot was cleared off the line.
Rugby thought they had taken the lead in the 10th minute when they scored with a headed effort, but the referee had spotted an earlier push and Leighton were relieved to be given a free kick.
However, the hosts didn’t have to wait long to take the lead – just three minutes in fact as Leighton decided to play Russian Roulette on the edge of their own penalty area. Cunningham passed the ball square to Andre Maltay who was facing his own goal, and he was quickly under pressure from striker Leahy who won the ball and despatched a low left-footed shot across Kevin Marsh and in off the post.
Leighton had a great chance to equalise when they won a corner on the left, Lewis McBride’s delivery was driven across and it eluded everyone including two Leighton players at the far post.
A minute later Leighton broke quickly from midfield but Jake Bewley’s attempt to curl the ball into the top right hand corner ended up well wide of the mark.
Two minutes later a high ball into the box was headed down by Leon Simpson to Enzo Silvestri, but his volley ended up flashing narrowly wide and the first half ended with Rugby a goal to the good.
After failing to make their chances to score count, Town were punished early in the second half when Rugby doubled their lead – again from another Leighton error.
Bewley attempted a square pass in midfield and the ball was intercepted by Allen who moved forward at pace before his fine pass allowed Fagan to fire a low diagonal shot across Marsh.
Town introduced Ben Gallant to replace Simpson in an attempt to get back into the game, but within two minutes of the change the visitors found themselves two down when a misunderstanding between Cunningham and keeper Marsh allowed Keen through to seal Town’s fate.
Gallant went close a couple of times in the closing stages, but it just wasn’t to be Town’s day as Wells was made to taste defeat as manager for the third time. And Town are set for another tough test this Saturday when they host play-off chasing AFC Hayes at Bell Close.