BRADLEY Ihionvien has revealed he has been working hard on managing his emotions as he bids to nail down a Colchester United starting spot.

The talented 20-year-old striker came off the bench to score in League Two for the fourth time this season after netting the U's vital equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Salford City.

Ihionvien is yet to start under Danny Cowley and is in contention for a place in Colchester's starting line-up for their home clash with promotion-chasing Stockport County, on Saturday.

READ MORE: Karl Robinson rues Salford's 'under-par' display against U's

And the U's academy product says he is been focusing on dealing with his emotions, as he aims to become a regular starter at the JobServe Community Stadium.

Ihionvien said: “When you’re not playing, you can be frustrated or you can not be frustrated but at the end of the day, you’re just going to have to wait.

“You either wait patiently or you wait frustrated – I’ve been waiting patiently and I think I showed (against Salford) what I can do.

“I have high expectations of myself and when I don’t meet them, I’m a bit disappointed in myself.

“But I’m working on the emotional side of the game, how to deal with my emotions, when to show them, when not to show them and stuff like that."

Gazette: Brad Ihionvien

Ihionvien has revealed his crucial equaliser in Colchester's draw at Salford was a goal straight off the Florence Park training pitch.

He rescued a point for the U’s at Moor Lane with a fine right-foot finish.

Ihionvien netted two minutes after coming on as a substitute and the young striker says his clinical finish was something he had been working on.

Ihionvien said: “I’ve been doing a lot of work with Nicky (Cowley) and the gaffer and Lorenzo (Dolcetti) on my right-foot finishing.

READ MORE: U's fans have their say on their side's draw at Salford City

“I was happy to see it come out.

“The right side is obviously my weaker side, so it’s about believing that I can strike it properly, the direction of the goal, there’s a lot that goes into it but it was really good to see it go in.

“It feels amazing – it’s something I’ve been waiting for now for a while.

“It’s testament to the work that we’ve been doing on the training ground and to the team for the determination and the resilience to go 1-0 down and keep fighting.

“We’ve shown that a couple of times and it’s good to come away with a point."

Colchester’s point at Salford was their third successive 1-1 draw and leaves them five points above the relegation zone, with 12 games remaining.

Ihionvien added: “It’s one defeat in eight and if you look at our record before then, I think it’s progress that we’re making at the moment, so it’s good to see.”