Perry Groves says he was honoured to play for Colchester United – and says he owes them for helping him on the ladder to success.

Groves returns to his old club tonight when he is guest speaker for the U’s End of Season awards dinner, at the Community Stadium.

The exciting winger, who played as a youngster for Cornard Dynamos, broke into Colchester’s first team just before his 17th birthday and never looked back.

He made a name for himself at Layer Road and registered nearly 150 league appearances for the U’s, scoring 26 times, before moving to Arsenal in 1986.

Groves told the Daily Gazette: “It will be really nice to go back there.

“It’s a completely different club now but I was honoured to play for them.

“I played for three teams in my career – Colchester United, Arsenal and Southampton.

“But I didn’t really get a bond with Southampton and Colchester and Arsenal are my two clubs.

“I owe Colchester United for putting me on the ladder – it’s where I started my apprenticeship both physically and metaphorically.

“I’m sure I’ll see some familiar faces at the awards night, some friendly and some not so friendly - I did wind a few people up when I was there!”

After bursting onto the first-team scene at Colchester, winger Groves caught the eye with his electric speed and struck up a potent understanding with prolific striker, Tony Adcock.

“They were great times,” said Groves, who won two league titles at Arsenal under George Graham.

“Tony Adcock and I were the two star players and he scored all the goals.

“People still get nostalgic about old grounds like Layer Road but the Community Stadium is a fantastic facility.

“Dave Blacknall is still there – I’ve always said that groundsmen are like goalkeepers, in that you have to be a bit nuts to do that job!”

Despite leaving Colchester for pastures new more than three decades ago, Groves still has plenty of connections with his former club, including current U’s assistant manager, Steve Ball.

He added: “Bally was a young pro at Arsenal, when I was there.

“We used to call him the poacher turned gamekeeper but he was a very good player and went on to have a good career.

“Richard Hall was a talented young defender, when I was at Southampton.

“We used to call him marvellous, because he said he was brilliant at everything!

“Whether it was golf, snooker or hand-gliding, you name it he could do it!

“He backed it up on the pitch and it was a real shame he picked a serious injury after moving to West Ham.

“I also used to play in the same Cornard Dynamos team as (U’s director) Tony Ashby and he has football in his blood.

“He’s a good lad and the good thing about all three of them is that it’s important for any club to have good characters and honest people working for it, who understand what you’re trying to do and have an affinity for it.

“The club really means something to them.”

n Perry Groves is one of a host of stars involved with Play With A Legend, which gives people the opportunity to play with their footballing heroes.

For information, visit www.playwithalegend.com