Alex Gilbey’s virtuoso display at Deepdale was the latest example of a young footballer who is growing in stature week by week.

Gilbey’s impressive performance at Preston North End was arguably his finest in a Colchester United shirt and was an indication of the rapid development of a midfielder showing maturity beyond his years.

The 19-year-old certainly appears to have all of the attributes needed to be a success in the modern game.

His qualities are plentiful; he is strong, composed, tenacious, effective in the air and technically gifted, as he proved with his wonderful long-range strike at Deepdale on his 50th league appearance for the U’s.

What I like most about Gilbey though is his willingness to take responsibility on the pitch and face challenges head on, a key component required by any central midfielder these days.

It is testament to Gilbey and his attitude that he has played so many games for Colchester since coming off the bench for his first-team debut under Joe Dunne in a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie at Northampton Town.

On that occasion, he gave away a penalty in a 2-1 defeat at Sixfields but even then, he showed in his subsequent performance that he was not prepared to let that setback affect the rest of his game.

It is that kind of character that has helped him to become a mainstay in the U’s starting line-up first under Dunne and now Tony Humes and is a great example to the many up-and-coming academy players looking to follow in Gilbey’s footsteps.

Perhaps it is that collective youthful inexperience that is the main reason behind Colchester’s pattern of conceding goals of late under Humes and blotting their defensive copybook.

The U’s have kept four clean sheets in the six games they have played since Humes’ appointment at the start of last month.

But in the two matches in which they have conceded goals, they have allowed their opponents to score seven times in the space of a total of 19 minutes.

That backs up Humes’ verdict that his players must improve their levels of concentration and belief if they are to avoid more defensive lapses, in the coming months.

For a three-page preview of the U's game with Gillingham, including more on their new signings David Fox and Elliott Hewitt, see Tuesday's Daily Gazette.