Thinking back on Blackpool's EFL Trophy experiences, Richie Wellens said, "It was just a sea of orange."

For a period in the early 2000s, Blackpool had a firm hold over the EFL Trophy. The Tangerines’ first triumph in this competition came in 2002 when they cruised to a 4-1 win over Cambridge United in the EFL Trophy Final.

Blackpool came flying out of the blocks in the Welsh capital, taking the lead in the sixth minute through John Murphy. Cambridge equalised from the spot in the first half, but Steve McMahon’s side meant business in the second period. Goals from Chris Clarke, John Hills and Scott Taylor saw them secure the silverware.

“My memory of both games is pulling up at the Millennium Stadium – because Wembley was being re-built – and it was just a sea of orange,” Wellens recalls. “Whenever Blackpool make a Final, it’s just a sea of orange.

One game, we stayed at the Vale of Glamorgan and the next game, we stayed at Celtic Manor for two or three days before the game to spend some time with the team, so the preparation was spot on for both games.

“I’ve played at Wembley as well, so the experience of the Millennium Stadium was fantastic and it did it a brilliant job in holding the Finals while Wembley was being re-built. It was a brilliant atmosphere and a very closed in venue, similar to Wembley.”

They didn’t have to wait long to get their hands on the trophy once again. Just two years later, they were back at the Millennium Stadium, with Southend United the opponents this time.

The Seasiders struck either side of the break in a 2-0 win over the Shrimpers on the big stage to reclaim the crown.

Wellens says: “Under Steve McMahon in League One, we could never really muster up a promotion challenge and we weren’t consistent enough. But on any given day, we could beat any team because we had some talented players, so we were a decent cup team.

“We didn’t have the pressure of the league – we were never any danger of getting relegated by we couldn’t get in the Play-Offs – so when it got to the latter stages of that tournament, we took it very seriously.

“We had some good players; we had some good attacking threats with John Murphy, Scott Taylor, Paul Simpson and John Hills. We had a really young group with just a couple of older, experienced players and it was a good dressing room to be in. When you win trophies, you always have that connection with the players that you’ve played with because you know you share a special moment.”

One of a handful of players named in the starting line-up for both occasions, Wellens more than played his part in helping Blackpool get there.

Most notably, the former midfielder made the scoresheet in the first leg of the Northern Area Final at home to Huddersfield Town in a 3-1 win, before making the trip across to West Yorkshire for the second leg when the Tangerines booked their place in the Final with a 4-3 aggregate win.

“I remember we won the first leg and then we played away at Huddersfield,” Wellens explains. “It was a big crowd and we took quite a lot of supporters there.

“Ian Marshall – who was coming to the end of his career at the time – was playing centre-back for us and he actually got stuck in traffic, so we didn’t know if he was going to make the game.

“With how good he was and how experienced he was and the way he could navigate his way around a football pitch, he turned up with 20 minutes to go until kick off. Steve McMahon kept him in the team and he ended up playing with no warm-up and he did really well. We were under the cosh in the second leg, but we managed to hang on.”

Wellens, who made the switch from Premier League giants Manchester United to sign for Division Two side Blackpool, enjoy plenty of success at Bloomfield Road, picking up three trophies and clocking over 200 appearances on the way to established himself as a fans’ favourite.

He continues: “Blackpool is a tremendous Football Club and when you’re getting to Finals, you should be winning them and we did. We were favourites for both games. Cambridge were a League Two team and it was a pretty comfortable day in terms of Finals. We didn’t have any major concerns and we were never chasing the game.

“Weirdly enough, we beat Leyton Orient in the Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium which was a totally different game because after 15 seconds, we were 1-0 down, so we had to chase that game, whereas the other two Trophy wins were pretty comfortably.

“I was captain for one of them because Simon Grayson had been out for a couple of months before that, so me and him held the trophy which was a good memory.”

The 43-year-old, who was in the dugout at Wembley as Salford City lifted the EFL Trophy in 2020, has fond memories of the competition, both as a player and a manager. Wellens’ first major domestic trophy of his career, it will always have a special place for the current Leyton Orient boss.

As for Blackpool, two decades on from their last appearance in the Final, the Seasiders have sight of the silverware once again.

“In the first year, we got that promotion and then the next few years, we won the EFL Trophy twice,” he comments. “A lot of players will play for 10 or 15 years and never get that opportunity, so at that time, we were pretty lucky.

“Once you’ve tasted that success and held silverware, any player would tell you that as soon as you finish the day, you’re thinking, ‘when can the next one come?’ For some people, it’s not quick in coming unless you’re a Manchester City or a Liverpool nowadays.

“The EFL Trophy is a difficult trophy to win but it set myself on the right path in terms of having that winning mentality and a hunger for trophies.”

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Thinking back on Blackpool’s EFL Trophy experiences, Richie Wellens said, “It was just a sea of orange.”

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