Colchester United head coach John McGreal admits it was an easy decision to recall Kyel Reid to his starting line-up for their 3-2 win at Swindon Town.

The on-loan Coventry City winger made his first league start in six weeks for the U's at the County Ground and provided assists for their opening two goals scored by Frankie Kent and Mikael Mandron, on Friday night.

Reid was the only change to Colchester's starting line-up after replacing injured defender Ryan Inniss, with McGreal's side switching to a 4-3-3 formation.

“We know what Kyel is about and he brings a lot of experience," said McGreal.

“He got a couple of assists and every time he plays, he seems to bring assists.

“With Ryan going out of the team, it was a little bit of an easy decision to bring Kyel in because we know what his numbers are about.

“We flipped the system to 4-3-3 and the boys took to it like a duck to water.

“They recycled play and kept possession.

"The play was a little different at times to how we’ve been playing.

"But these boys can flip a system at a drop of a hat and that’s really credit to them and the hard work that they’ve been putting in on the training ground."

Meanwhile, McGreal was pleased to see defender Frankie Kent recover from the disappointment of receiving a sixth-minute booking to help Colchester claim victory at Swindon.

Kent was booked for a foul on Kaiyne Woolery but the defender bounced back impressively to score the U's equaliser and then help his side claim a vital win.

“Frankie is only 22 years old," said McGreal.

“He got a booking early on and with their pace up top, we were thinking that one slight mistake and it could be a double yellow.

“But I thought he chose his decisions wisely after that and got his goal.

“I think he’s our leading goalscoring defender at the minute and he’s getting in and around the box.

“We felt we could score from that front-post area."