THE worst kept secret in football was made public on Wednesday when John McGreal was appointed first team coach of Colchester United. The title ‘coach’ instead of ‘manager’ came as a surprise, as I am sure it is the first time we have used it in this way. John will be assisted by Steve Ball, who has built a reputation as very respected coach. They start with a clean sheet and a huge challenge before them, as always. There is much work to do over the summer, before we see their team in action.

Sadly, the job has as much as permanence as a game of pass the parcel with seven managers trying their hand in the last eight years. It is essential that this time we have found a man who has a sufficiently complete skill set to make a success of it. Recently we have appointed based on strengths such as experience, organisational skills, or a ‘vision’, and despite these strengths other weaknesses have found them out in the way in which weaknesses always will.

John will need to have every bit of good luck to go his way, but he goes into the job with the advantage of the playing squad knowing him and wanting to play for him. He has earned that respect by the way he has run the Under-21’s and it gives him a fighting chance of success. We have three or four players in the Under-21’s who may one day progress to the first team where they will be able to make the transition under the guidance of someone they know and trust.

Generally I love change, and League Two will certainly give us that. The travel itinerary is less gruelling than League One which has been very northern biased. But the style of sides we meet will be a culture change, with many putting physical durability and strength ahead of finesse. It is not a good league to be taking a young side into, but that is what we must do.

We all now need a break from football as relegation battles, particularly unsuccessful ones, take a high toll. We need to see signs over the summer that the club still has ambition to do well in every season, as fans are losing patience with the promise of jam tomorrow. It’s ironic, as the first sizeable batch of players from the Academy are only just beginning to find their feet in adult football. If only we had been able to maintain a stronger side in the season just gone, they would still be facing the challenge of League One next season.

It’s very rare for a football team to unite just about everybody, but that is exactly what Leicester City have done over the last nine month. It shows that at heart football folk still understand that the game should not just be about who has the most money.

I’m not sure where the Leicester story will go from here. Next season they have the Champions’ League to enjoy. Their Premier League campaign must inevitably be an anti-climax, but really at this moment none of that matters as they are enjoying the moment and wringing every ounce of pleasure from it. Leicester have been the darlings of the press for the season, now they have won something the press will go the other way and look for ways to bring them down, but all that lies ahead. They are still in full celebratory mode having created a bit of history that will sustain the club for years before eventually becoming a burden to bear. That’s how football works.

At the non-league level, Braintree Town’s achievement’s in reaching the National League play-offs is almost on a par with Leicester’s. I watched them beat Altrincham on Monday and they were so impressive, showing all the qualities of teamwork and togetherness The thing that struck me most was that the team play for each other, and when the final whistle went they were interested only in congratulating each other and making the most of the moment.

Braintree manager Danny Cowley has achieved a small miracle, and based on what I saw in Monday he will go a long way in the game if he wants to. His players have not been tainted by ego and agents up in the stands spinning their stories and painting pictures of vast wealth at their fingertips. Braintree have kept their eyes on the prize and gained their reward without these influences. I wonder whether we will be able to speak in such a way about the U’s, exactly a year from now.