DANNY Cowley says he would rather use funds to boost Colchester United’s chances of long-term success than splash cash on a pre-season trip.

The U’s are busy finalising their pre-season, with the club’s first-team squad due to report back at Florence Park on July 1 in readiness for the 2024-25 campaign.

Colchester are currently finalising their friendlies in preparation for next season and last summer, the club’s senior squad embarked on a pre-season warm weather training camp in southern Spain under previous boss, Ben Garner.

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Cowley is preparing for his first pre-season in charge of the U’s and admits taking his squad abroad before the campaign starts is not high on his list of priorities.

U’s head coach Cowley said: “There’s a number of things that we want to do.

“Of course, it would be wonderful to be able to take the group away.

“I know they had a pre-season camp last year in Spain but rather than allocate that money to a camp, I’d rather allocate it to the pitches for example and make sure that the provisions to support the first team on a day to day basis over the 40-odd weeks of the season are given priority.

Gazette:

“A camp is lovely and it’s lovely to get some sun on your back and break pre-season up and give you the opportunity to bond and do all of these things but we have to try to utilise our money as best we can and prioritise and make the best decisions.

“Every pound that I spend of Robbie’s has to go towards helping the team have success on the pitch and we all have to decide how we best spend that money, so that we can maximise the players’ potential, next year.”

Colchester will learn their fixture schedule for the upcoming 2024/25 season on Wednesday June 26, at 9am.

The U’s hold their Open Day on July 21, with the new League Two season getting underway on August 10.