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.
He 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
In 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]
