Town's Richie Wellens as hungry as ever

The 35-year-old is planning for a career in coaching when his playing days are over.

But the former Manchester United trainee, who numbers Ipswich and Leicester among his clubs, sees that as being several years down the line.

Eyebrows may have been raised when Town signed a 35-year-old on a year and a half's contract last month, but Wellens insists he's not at Shrewsbury for a final pay day.

Wellens, who was a late substitute in Sunday's 0-0 draw at Fleetwood, said: "In some waysm the 18 months is irrelevant.

"If in six months I'm not enjoying it or when the hunger goes, I'll call it a day. My hunger is still there and every game we play in training, I want to win it and when I do, I'm happy.

"I'm a winner because I train properly every day and on the pitch I demand from people what I want to see.

"If the others see I'm doing it properly, hopefully it will rub off and these lads in their 20s can do it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want a challenge.

"Being from Manchester, the easy option was to go to one of the clubs that wanted to take me in the North-West and drive 10 minutes into training.

"I've come somewhere where it takes me an hour and a half and I want to be successful.

"The hunger is still there – I still enjoy training and hopefully I can pass down my experience to some of the younger lads."

That hunger was honed at United as a youngster where he struggled to break into of the world's best midfields.

He said: "I was unfortunate. The midfield at the time was David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs – probably the greatest midfield they've ever had.

"It was tough, but I needed to get away to make a career for myself.

"I've won promotions, won the LDV Trophy a couple of times and played for some big clubs such as Ipswich and Leicester and I've enjoyed my career – but it's not over.

"I'm looking to coach, but that's three or four years down the line and I want to play."

Wellens has had no shortage of guidance from some of the biggest managerial names in the game.

He said: "I started with Sir Alex Ferguson, who I took a lot from, and Sean O'Driscoll was a fantastic coach.

"Sven Goran Eriksson was the best man-manager I've ever had and Nigel Pearson and Mick McCarthy were great managers, so there's loads to draw on."

Now it's turned full circle and Wellens wants to play a part in developing the next batch of academy hopefuls at Old Trafford to get a foothold on the coaching ladder.

He said: "I'm doing my coaching badges in the summer and I do bits at Manchester United's academy.

"I've put things in place so when I finish playing, someone can hopefully give me an opportunity, because I'd like to think I've learned a lot and my knowledge is good."