COLCHESTER United striker Frank Nouble expects his return to former club Newport County to attract a capacity crowd tomorrow.

The 27-year-old spent a productive 12 months with the Exiles last season before leaving to join the U’s on a two-year deal, in July.

Nouble is hoping to help Colchester claim a third straight win in League Two, which could help them climb up to second in the table.

And the experienced forward is predicting a packed house at Rodney Parade, ahead of his much-anticipated return to South Wales.

Nouble said: “It’ll be full to capacity because I’m going down there!

“I know it will be full because I’ve spoken to a few of them down there already.

“The fans are close to the pitch and it’ll be a great atmosphere in general.

“Everyone’s looking forward to it.

“The boys will have to make sure they perform well for me – because I did the same for them!

“We did it against Swindon for Nos (Luke Norris) and Pelle (Harry Pell) against Cheltenham, so hopefully they can do the same for me.

“I had a good year there – I enjoyed it thoroughly and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Newport, to be honest with you.

“They’ve got a good fanbase, a good manager and are a good club.

“They’re not one of the biggest clubs in the league but for what they are, they definitely work hard for it and I embraced that at the time.

“They went for quantity not quality in the end with some signings and didn’t keep the boys that did well for them last year but I’m looking forward to going back and seeing a few old faces.

“Their fans won’t know too much about what happened at the end of the season.

“I got offered a deal that came off the table; they tried to offer me something else which wasn’t what I wanted.

“I’m sure if they had the same scenario in their jobs, they wouldn’t be still there.

“I’m playing somewhere else now but I’m really happy that they’re doing well.

“As long as we finish on top of them and beat them, that’s all I care about to be honest with you but I always say good things about Newport.”

Colchester are aiming to register a third straight league win tomorrow, following back-to-back home victories against Swindon Town and leaders Lincoln City.

“We can go second and I think everyone should be excited for it, as a club, media and supporters,” said the former West Ham United youngster.

“We’re in a great position and overall it’s been a great start.

“We’re in the top three and we’re looking forward rather than looking behind us.

“It’s another little stone that we need to overturn and it’s another challenge for us.

“With every game we have now, we can look forward in terms of the team above us and look at their fixtures and see what they can do.

“But this is a big game where we just need to focus on performing well and try and bounce back from the last two defeats, in the cup.

“I don’t think we performed to our best in either of those cup games.

“If we can get back to performing well, I’m sure the result will take care of itself.”