Conor Joseph Sellars (born 15 January 1992) is an English football coach and former player who is the under-23 lead professional development phase coach at Hull City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Conor Joseph Sellars[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 15 January 1992[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Leeds, England | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hull City (coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2010 | Middlesbrough | ||
| 2010–2011 | Rochdale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2012 | Fão | 9 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Hallam | (9) | |
| 2013 | Höttur | 8 | (1) |
| 2013 | Harrogate Railway Athletic | ||
| 2013–2014 | Harrogate Town | 14 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Worksop Town | ||
| 2015–2018 | Tadcaster Albion | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020–2021 | Bradford City (joint caretaker manager) | ||
| 2021 | Bradford City (joint manager) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editBorn in Leeds,[1] Sellars, a midfielder, began his youth career at Middlesbrough and Rochdale,[1] before playing professionally in Portugal for Fão and in Iceland for Höttur.[3] He made 8 appearances for 2. deild karla side Höttur, scoring once.[4] He also played non-league football in England for Hallam,[1] Harrogate Railway Athletic,[5] Harrogate Town,[6] Worksop Town,[7] and Tadcaster Albion,[5][8][9] before retiring in May 2018 to concentrate on his coaching career.[10]
Coaching career
editHe has worked for Bradford City as a youth coach,[11] before being appointed caretaker manager alongside Mark Trueman in December 2020.[12][13] Their first match was a 1–1 draw away at Crawley Town on 15 December 2020, the club's first point in six games.[14][15] The club's CEO Ryan Sparks said that Trueman and Sellars had the board's full support whilst the search for a permanent manager was ongoing.[16] Their second match was a 1–0 victory at home against Cambridge United on 19 December 2020, the club's first league win in eight matches.[17][18] After the result, Truman and Sellars had a celebratory beer, and then spent seven to eight hours the next day planning for the next game.[19] Sellars later said that the players were reacting to the caretaker managers' hard work.[20]
On 28 December 2020 it was announced that Trueman and Sellars had been promoted to 'interim' managers and would remain in charge of the team for at least January 2021.[21][22][23] Sellars later spoke about being in charge for this first transfer window in January 2021,[24] telling players who might have lost their place in the first-team as a result of new signings to continue training and working hard.[25]
In February 2021 Bradford City CEO Ryan Sparks said that Trueman and Sellars were happy with their 'interim' status and were not pushing to be made permanent managers.[26] Later that month Trueman and Sellars were nominated for the January 2021 EFL League Two Manager of the Month award, after 2 wins and 1 draw in their 3 league games that month.[27] Trueman and Sellars were also praised by player Connor Wood for their maturity and detail.[28]
On 22 February 2021 Trueman and Sellars were announced as Bradford City's joint permanent managers, on a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season.[29] They were the youngest managers in the English Football League.[30]
By 8 March 2021, Trueman and Sellars had won 10 out of 15 league games, only losing once, and guided Bradford City from 22nd to 10th in the division.[30] That same day the duo were nominated for the February 2021 EFL League Two Manager of the Month award, after one loss and four successive victories.[31]
In May 2021, after a dip in the team's form which saw them lose 5 matches in a row, Sellars said that he and Trueman would get out of their slump and that they had done their job in guiding the club away from relegation.[32] On 10 May 2021 however, the two managers had their management contracts terminated by the club, having finished the season with a run of just one point from a possible 21 that ended in a mid-table finish. The two were offered alternative roles at the club,[33][34] who were hopeful that the duo would remain.[35] It was later announced that Trueman would stay with the club as a first-team link coach, although Sellars had yet to make a decision.[36]
Sellars left Bradford City on 18 June 2021, after 7 years with the club, although the club said they would still fund Sellars' UEFA Pro (Level 5) license coaching course.[37] In July 2022 he became the under-23 lead professional development phase coach at Hull City.[38]
Coaching style
editIn February 2021 Sellars said that he is influenced by foreign coaching styles, including the Italian football he watched as a child and the time he spent as a player in Portugal and Iceland.[39]
Personal life
editHis father is former footballer Scott Sellars.[3]
Managerial statistics
edit- As of 18 February 2023
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| Bradford City[40] | 13 December 2020 | 10 May 2021 | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 43.33 | |||
| Total | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 43.33 | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Conor Sellars at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- ^ "Conor Sellars - Free". footballdatabase.eu.
- ^ a b "TAFC strengthen squad by signing former Middlesbrough midfielder". www.tadalbion.com.
- ^ "Conor Sellars" (in Icelandic). Football Association of Iceland. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ a b Grayson, James (11 December 2015). "Tadcaster grab Conor Sellars". Non League Yorkshire.
- ^ "England - C. Sellars - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com.
- ^ "Non-league football: Conor Sellars delighted with form for Worksop Town". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Sellars stays with Tadcaster Albion | Non League Daily". Archived from the original on 21 January 2021.
- ^ Grayson, James (23 May 2017). "Sellars agrees to extend Tad stay". Non League Yorkshire.
- ^ "BREAKING NEWS | Wizard Waves Goodbye". www.tadalbion.com.
- ^ "SELLARS LOOKING FORWARD TO CHELSEA TEST". www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk.
- ^ "Stuart McCall sacked by lowly Bradford City". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk.
- ^ "Time for McCall-less Bantams to step up, says temporary boss Trueman". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "BANTAMS REACTION: Fighting spirit in Crawley draw pleases caretaker boss Trueman". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "MATCH REPORT: Happier ending to Trueman show as Bantams stop the rot". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Stand-in duo aiming to keep it simple for Bantams". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "BANTAMS REACTION: Trueman's delight as City get back to winning ways". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "SIMON PARKER'S VERDICT: Dynamic duo put Bantams back on firmer footing". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Trueman and Sellars transforming Bradford City's mood". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Players respect our openness and honesty, says caretaker Bantams coach Sellars". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Bradford City promote Trueman and Sellars to interim bosses". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Bradford City: Mark Trueman and Conor Sellars will remain in interim charge until further notice". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Bantams duo in charge 'until further notice'". BBC Sport.
- ^ ""It's not a normal month - but we can make up for the sleep in February"". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Sellars warns Bantams: Don't get lazy if you're not in team | Bradford Telegraph and Argus". Thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ "Bradford City management duo remain comfortable with interim position". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "TRUEMAN AND SELLARS IN MANAGER OF MONTH NOMINATION". www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk.
- ^ ""It's as if they've been managing a first team for years"". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Bradford City name Trueman and Sellars as permanent joint managers". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ a b Robertson, Gregor. "The joint managers ready to end Bradford's 'toxic' era of struggle" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "Bradford City management duo nominated for monthly award again". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ ""Our aim was to avoid relegation and we did that really early on. Anything from that was a bonus"". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "CLUB STATEMENT: MARK TRUEMAN AND CONOR SELLARS". www.bradfordcityafc.com. 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Trueman and Sellars SACKED as City look to rebuild". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Bradford City future of former managerial duo to be decided "in coming days"". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Trueman signs three-year deal to stay at Bradford City in new link role". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Sellars says farewell as he leaves City after seven years". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "New coaching role for former Bantams boss Sellars". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ "The continental influence behind Bradford City coaching methods". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
- ^ "Player details. Conor Sellars". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 29 March 2023.