Macauley Bonne’s hat-trick for Colchester United under-21s will serve as a big confidence boost for the striker.

That’s the view of U’s academy coach John McGreal, who has praised Bonne for his performance in the league leaders’ 4-1 victory over Barnsley.

McGreal’s in-form under-21 side comfortably saw off the Tykes to rack up a fifth win in six matches and stay top of Professional Development League Two.

Bonne enjoyed a run of six successive starts for Colchester under boss Tony Humes, before losing his place to new signing Marvin Sordell.

But as Bonne battles to impress Humes and reclaim his first-team spot, McGreal believes scoring a hat-trick for the club’s under-21s will give the promising forward a big lift.

He said: “Macca scored three great goals and it was the perfect hat-trick - left foot, right foot and a header.

“He’s a great lad who works his socks off and he’s scored at every level while he’s been here.

“It’s something for different for him, because he tends to score a lot of good goals.

“He was telling me that he’d scored three goals in six appearances for the first team and it’s really good for him to stay in the goals.

“It’s great for his confidence and now he’ll be looking to take any chances he gets in the first team.”

Bonne was part of a strong Colchester under-21 team for their game against Barnsley, with seven of the starting line-up boasting Football League experience.

“These boys have been in the first team and they’re all looking to impress,” added McGreal, who confirmed that Sammie Szmodics was taken off as a precaution against Barnsley after picking up a foot injury.

“They don’t just want to get 90 minutes under their belt - they’re trying to give Tony problems and they want that game time.

“It’s easy to forget that most of them are only 19 or 20 and they’re still really young, even for under-21 level.

“Having played at senior level, they bring different habits into the under-21 environment.

“They’re looking to win games of football and have a different mindset, which the younger boys are getting exposed to.

“We have a core group who’ve had that exposure in the first team and that’s really helping.”