COLCHESTER United legend Karl Duguid insists quality will be more important than quantity for his former club in this summer's transfer window.

And the double U's promotion winner says any signings they make will need to be 'game changers' and come in and make a difference to the squad.

Colchester brought in a host of new players last summer but are yet to make a first-team signing, this time around.

However, the bulk of the U's squad remains intact from the previous campaign, with the vast majority of their players under contract for at least another season.

Colchester are working hard to bring in new faces and former club captain Duguid - who made more than 450 appearances during two spells with the U's - says they need to bring the right players in.

Duguid said: “Browny has his sights on who he wants to get in and who he wants to keep.

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Legend - Karl Duguid during his second spell at Colchester United

“Some people are worried that they haven’t brought anyone in yet but there’s plenty of time.

“You want the ones that are going to make a difference – they’ve got to be the game changers.

“I’m sure they’re in discussions with people.

“They’ve kept most of the players they’ve wanted and the ones who were playing, towards the end of the season.

“If they add to that, then who knows?

“It’s tough, we know that but if they get the right blend and attitude and application, then who knows what could happen?

“Quality is better than quantity and it’s about having that quality fit – if you’ve got a small squad, you’ve got to keep everyone fit.

“If you’ve got a lot of quality in a smaller squad and you’re a bit more tight knit, I think that quality comes out better than having a massive group where there’s too many.

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Old friends - Karl Duguid (right) and Wayne Brown share a joke during Kem Izzet's testimonial match, in 2012

“Someone like John Akinde is going to have a full pre-season.

“He was someone who had Covid and probably wasn’t fully fit towards the end of last season so someone like that coming in having a full pre-season is going to be beneficial."

Duguid, who has recently returned to Stanway Rovers in a first-team coaching role, says he was pleased to see his former Colchester team-mate Brown get the job on a permanent basis.

Brown, working alongside Joe Dunne and Dave Huzzey, led the U's to safety and a strong finish in League Two, during his interim spell in charge.

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“I’m really pleased for them," said Duguid, who twice won promotion with Colchester and worked alongside Dunne during his spell in charge of the U's between 2012 and 2014.

“I’ve seen Joe a couple of times in and around town and hopefully they can kick on now.

“If they start the way that they finished, then it could be a good season.

“They had a really strong finish and they cemented the job then I think, towards the end of the season.

“When you look at it statistically, it was actually a lot better with what they achieved.

“I think the players were responding their ways and how they wanted to do things and I believe Browny was having more of an input, in everything that went on and rightly so.

“He knows them all now and they’ve got to know him and you saw that especially towards the end of last season.

“It was so much better and that’s because they’re listening to him and what he wants to do as a coach and as staff.

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“You get used to a manager and their ways and how they do things and with Browny, you could see that the things that they’d been doing had been working.

“As a team, they were better defensively and I’m sure that will continue.

“It’s about getting that balance of being good defensively but also adventurous going forward and I think they got that towards the end of last season, when they got some great results.

“It’ll be nice to see Browny get a good pre-season himself, because every time in the past he’s had the job, it’s partway through the season picking up the pieces!

“Now it’s a case of ‘you go and do what you want to do’ – we’ve seen what he can do in the back end of last season and it’s a case of ‘it’s all you now’.

“Keeping Joe on as well was important to him and Dave Huzzey as well.

“It showed that it worked and it’s down to them now.

“It’s not like you’re walking in halfway through a season saying ‘these aren’t my players, this isn’t my system, this isn’t what I would do’.

“It now from the start doing what you want to do and how you want to do it and I think that’s important."