The news that a further three players have extended their contracts at Colchester United has been warmly received by supporters.

It shows that the U’s are sensibly planning ahead and offers further evidence of the foundations that they are laying down for the future.

It is also, perhaps, another indication that Colchester are learning the lessons of the not so distant past.

When Colchester took the Championship by storm in their historic 2006-07 campaign under Geraint Williams, there was a successful platform from which to build.

But the contracts of many of the key players in that squad, such as Jamie Cureton, Chris Iwelumo and Richard Garcia, were allowed to run down.

U’s fans had barely had time to celebrate the club’s highest-ever finish before the core of the team had left for pastures new on free transfers.

In persuading Tom Eastman, Gavin Massey and Frankie Kent to follow Alex Gilbey in putting pen to paper on new deals, the U’s are showing that they are planning ahead.

What they are putting in place is more comprehensive than merely creating a pathway from academy to first team.

The recent influx of more young players into the senior environment under Tony Humes, often at the expense of more experienced, established players, has offered further evidence that Colchester remain fully committed to giving their fledgling players an opportunity to shine in the Football League.

Kane Vincent-Young was the latest U’s academy player to taste life with the first-team squad at the weekend, when he travelled with them for their 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park.

In my recent interview with Robbie Cowling for the Daily Gazette, the U’s chairman made it clear that they have invested too much money in their academy to allow their brightest young stars to leave on the cheap.

It is therefore good news that home-grown talent such as Gilbey, Kent and Szmodics are tied to the U’s, not only for them as individuals but also for the club’s long-term prosperity.

The key now will be for Cowling to try and persuade more of the U’s leading lights to follow suit and sign on the dotted line.

For a full preview of Colchester's game with Chesterfield tonight, including all of the U's team news, see Tuesday's Daily Gazette.