TOM Lapslie says he never had any doubts about signing a new contract with Colchester United after committing his future to the club.

The tenacious midfielder, who was due to see his current deal expire this summer, has today agreed new terms with the U’s until the summer of 2021.

Lapslie has been one of Colchester’s most consistent players so far, this season and the 23-year-old former U’s academy player insists he always wanted to remain at the JobServe Community Stadium.

Lapslie said: “I wanted to sign here and get it all sorted.

“There wasn’t any doubt because I feel we’re a club going in the right direction and I wanted to be part of Colchester United’s immediate future.

“It had to be right for both parties but I was happy to extend my contract with Colchester and hopefully kick on for the rest of the season.

“I played Sunday League for my local team Ongar and then for Maldon, before signing for Colchester at the age of 15.

“I’ve got no other real experience of being anywhere else than here, at a professional club.

“I’m enjoying it and hopefully it can continue for years to come.

“The likes of Frankie Kent, Sammie Szmodics, Dillon Barnes and Kane Vincent-Young all came through my year group and Alex Gilbey and Drey Wright were the years above.

“It feels like it’s producing some good players and hopefully there are some more to come.

“Ollie Kensdale has made his debut and Noah Chilvers has been on the bench, so hopefully there’s some more boys to come through in the next few years as well and we can have 11 (academy) players playing.”

Lapslie will be hoping to help Colchester get back to winning ways against lowly Notts County, this weekend.

The U’s, who dropped out of the top seven following their 2-0 loss at Crawley Town on New Year’s Day, face a Magpies side with just one league away win to their name all season.

“It’s a massive game for us – there’s no hiding behind that,” said Lapslie, who has made more than 100 first-team appearances for the U’s.

“We haven’t lost two games in a row in the league so we are good at bouncing back.

“Good teams don’t lose two on the bounce and that’s a massive thing for us.

“We went to Notts County in the first game of the season and got a point and at the time, we probably all felt that it was a good one.

“It still is a good point because it’s a tough place to go and we haven’t done so well there, since I’ve been here.

“They’re down there and struggling but we can’t feel sorry for them or anything – we have to make sure that we take them apart on Saturday and get three points.”