COLCHESTER United have appointed Danny Cowley as their new head coach.

The 45-year-old replaces Matty Etherington, who was sacked on Monday following the U’s 1-0 home defeat to Gillingham.

They have agreed a contract with Colchester until the summer of 2026.

Essex-based Cowley will also be assisted by his younger brother Nicky, at the JobServe Community Stadium.

It is their first managerial role since they departed League One club Portsmouth, last January.

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Their first game in charge at Colchester will be the League Two clash at Swindon Town, on Saturday.

Cowley will initially be tasked with lifting the U’s away from the relegation mire.

Colchester are currently five points above the relegation zone, following a miserable run of eight defeats in their last nine matches.

Gazette:

Former Braintree Town boss Cowley has happy memories of managing in League Two.

The Cowleys guided Lincoln City to promotion to the third tier, in the 2018-19 season.

The Imps went from National League and League Two in their three full seasons in charge.

Havering-born Cowley had started his managerial career at Essex non-league club Concord Rangers, combining that role with teaching PE at the FitzWimarc School in Rayleigh.

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He won three promotions with the Beach Boys, before leaving them to join Braintree Town in April, 2015.

The Cowleys led the Iron to their highest-ever position of third in the National League and a play-off spot, where they were narrowly beaten by Grimsby Town.

They left to join Lincoln City in May 2016 and led the club to promotion back to the Football League in his first season in charge, winning the National League title with one game to spare.

Gazette: Danny Cowley

In the same season, Lincoln became the first non-league club to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals in more than a century.

The Cowleys led Lincoln to victory in the EFL Trophy Final at Wembley in the 2017-18 season, thanks to a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town.

In the following campaign, they guided Lincoln to promotion from League Two as champions before they left to take over at Championship club Huddersfield Town in September, 2019.

Despite keeping the Terriers in the second tier, they were dismissed in the summer of 2020 and in March 2021, took over at Portsmouth.

They spent more than two years at Fratton Park before parting company with the South Coast club in January, 2023.

Now, nearly a year to the day of their departure from Portsmouth, the Cowleys are back in football at Colchester United.