Michael Rose has admitted hitting Colchester United’s winner at Swindon Town was the perfect way to silence the boo boys.

Rose, who was part of the Robins side that was relegated from League One in 2011, came in for abuse both before and during his return to the County Ground.

The attacking full-back was targeted on social networking site Twitter prior to the U’s 1-0 win, on Tuesday night.

And he was also booed and received personal abuse throughout the League One encounter.

Rose had the last laugh though after scoring Colchester’s winning goal with a finely-struck free-kick, with 20 minutes to go.

He celebrated by cupping his ear to the Swindon supporters, who had levelled abuse at him from the stands.

The 30-year-old said helping the U’s see off his former club was the ideal way to respond to his critics.

Rose said: “I was really happy.

“During my time at Swindon, I got a bit of abuse from some of their fans because we were relegated.

“People used to send me messages on Twitter, commenting on my performances.

“I even had comments on Twitter before Tuesday night’s game but I didn’t respond.

“I was targeted by a few of them during the game, too.

“I had to have my say in some way though and I let my football do the talking.

“The hand gesture I made towards their fans after I scored was a bit of frustration and maybe I went too far with that.

“But some of them had said things about me and about my wife and my goal was my way of showing them my response.”

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