MARLEY Marshall Miranda is hoping he has done enough to keep his place in Colchester United’s starting line-up after making an impressive first-team return.

The 21-year-old had found himself out of favour at the U’s but made a surprise comeback in their 1-0 home defeat to Gillingham, on New Year’s Day.

Miranda impressed in his first senior appearance of the season and was named man of the match.

The young midfielder, whose last senior appearance for Colchester had been in their final game of last season against Mansfield Town, is now hoping to be involved again in their match at Swindon Town, this weekend.

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Miranda said: “I was buzzing when I heard I was picked to start.

“I’ve been ready to play for so long now and I finally got my chance.

“I’ve been playing 23s, keeping my head down and waiting for the chance to get called.

“That chance came and hopefully, I’ve taken it.”

Gazette:

Miranda had been back training with Colchester’s first team for a number of weeks before returning to the team against Gillingham.

Prior to that, he had been a regular for the U’s under-21 side in the Professional Development League and admits he has had to adopt the right attitude, in order to deal with his situation.

“It was hard at the start to get my head around playing 23s football but there’s no friends in football, so I just had to get on with it and wait for my chance,” said Miranda, who has made 28 league and cup appearances for the U’s.

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“I think I’ve had the right mentality this season – I haven’t just given up, I’ve kept going playing 23s games until I was called upon and now, I’ve got my chance.

“It’s how you deal with things and that’s what I’ve learnt.

“I’m getting a bit older; I’m 21 now and you have to learn from things and come back stronger.”

Colchester’s defeat against Gillingham was their eighth in their last nine matches and they lie five points above the League Two relegation zone, ahead of the game at 16th-placed Swindon.

Gazette:

Miranda added: “We have to stick together and the fans have got to stick with us as well.

“If we do that, we will prevail.

“We have to keep working and we can’t give up.

“I was happy to be back in the side but the way we lost, I didn’t think we deserved to lose.

“We’ve got to be more clinical in both boxes really.”