Colchester United want to step up their efforts to improve their interaction with the club’s supporters.

U’s chairman Robbie Cowling recently stated his desire to strengthen their bond with the Colchester United Supporters Association (CUSA), at the club’s annual Fans Forum.

Colchester are now planning for a third successive season in League Two under head coach John McGreal, following a 13th-place finish this season.

The U’s will be aiming to make a stronger challenge next time around, after finishing 13 points off the play-off places.

And ahead of the imminent announcement of season-ticket prices for next season, Colchester are keen to build a stronger link between club and fans – and get everyone backing a sustained promotion push.

U’s general manager Tim Waddington said: “I do think we can improve communication with the fans but that’s not to say that we don’t have a good relationship with CUSA already.

“Our Supporters’ Liaison Officer is Matt Hudson and he’s our main point of call and does a great job.

“We’ll always try and improve and enhance everything we do.

“It’s not all about massive leaps – it’s also about tiny steps.”

Colchester experienced an up and down 2017-18 campaign, prompting some supporters voiced their frustrations during games.

The club’s lowest league finish for 24 years has drawn criticism but Colchester head coach John McGreal has spoken recently of a ‘strong rapport’ with fans -and U’s Supporter Liaison Officer Matt Hudson says the club do try and listen to all supporters.

He said: “The key thing is that when everyone is pulling in the right direction, it’s a lot easier to achieve things.

“We’re always looking to get a better understanding of what the fans need and filter out the noise to address the credible things that really need addressing.

“Not everything is possible of course but where we can help, we will do it.

“In the past, there have been some good ideas put forward by supporters and the club do listen to what the supporters say.

“I think in that respect we’re well regarded around the football fraternity.

“We do try and listen – there’s the digital side which is very prominent these days and the chairman will often chat to supporters both before and after games, as will Tim (Waddington), so there are different platforms to communicate.”