Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens has laid into his 'really weak' squad after securing League One survival. The club's 20th-place finish came a season after they had got within a game of the Championship, losing the play-off final to Charlton. Wellens seethed at what many of his players deemed worthy of celebration and the meek manner they achieved it. Many managers, all too familiar with Wellens' woes, will have sympathised and cheered him on. Wellens, though, isn't the first League One manager to speak frankly about his squad's character deficit. Michael Duff said last month that his Wycombe players had wasted their time this season: 'I know what a dressing room should smell like and feel like and we don't have that.' Interviews like Wellens' and Duff's are popular popcorn-grabbers because they are rarity. Traditionally, criticism is kept in-house; managers are expected to protect their players, to deflect or absorb whatever flak is flying. Wellens, though, isn't the first League One manager to speak frankly about his squad's character deficit. Michael Duff said last month that his Wycombe players had wasted their time this season: 'I know what a dressing room should smell like and feel like and we don't have that.' Interviews like Wellens' and Duff's are popular popcorn-grabbers because they are rarity. Traditionally, criticism is kept in-house; managers are expected to protect their players, to deflect or absorb whatever flak is flying. It cannot be a surprise, though, that many managers have reached the end of their tether, their patience exhausted by players who are unable or unwilling – often both – to hold up their end of the deal. Frankly, managers ought to have felt empowered to say what they really think long before now. Because so often when they go before the media, many are spinning us a yarn for the benefit of the barely-arsed players under them and faceless officials above. But too few managers ever see the favour repaid. It was different when managers controlled clubs from bottom to somewhere close to the top. They oversaw almost everything – they _were_ responsible.