BRENDAN Wiredu says he is determined to make a statement during his spell at Colchester United.

The 19-year-old is hoping to force his way into the U’s starting line-up, after joining them on loan from Championship club Charlton Athletic on transfer deadline day.

Wiredu made his Football League debut as a substitute in Colchester’s 1-0 defeat at Forest Green Rovers, last weekend.

The versatile midfielder, who is on loan at the U’s until January, wants to make a positive impression during his time at the JobServe Community Stadium.

Wiredu said: “I’m here to make an impact.

“Luckily enough, the gaffer (John McGreal) trusts me enough to bring me in and give me a chance.

“I’m here to help the team, get experience and play as much as I can.

“When I came here, I saw the ambition of the club and it’s a good opportunity to get into the starting line-up and play.

“I’ll just focus on where I am right now.

“Hopefully if I do go back to Charlton, I can make a statement there.

“But I’m here playing with this team and I’m here to make a statement at Colchester.”

Wiredu played in a central midfield role for Colchester at Forest Green last weekend, after coming on as a substitute for Ryan Clampin with 24 minutes remaining.

The teenager had previously started for the U’s at right-back in their Leasings.com Trophy win at Gillingham, before switching to midfield.

He said: “My favourite position is central midfield but I’ll play wherever the manager plays me.

“I just want to go out there and play.”

Wiredu saw an effort disallowed in the closing stages of Colchester’s defeat at Forest Green, after he was penalised for a push in the area.

“It should have been a goal but the referee sees what he sees,” said the Charlton youngster, who has also spent time on loan at National League side Bromley.

“He saw a push from me but I see it week in, week out.

“I thought it was harsh but it was the ref’s decision.”

Colchester head to Swindon tonight looking to bounce back from their Forest Green defeat.

Wiredu believes it is a positive that they have another game so soon after the loss at the New Lawn.

He added: “We go again and luckily there’s another game.

“It’s a very good thing that there’s another game at Swindon and we can get it (the Forest Green defeat) out of our system and hopefully go there and win.

“You’re only as good as your last game.

“Trust me, we’ve got very confident players out there.

“I feel we’re making the right decisions and nine times out of ten, the strikers we have will finish these chances.

“We’ve got enough players to create chances and we will do that in every game – it’s whether one goes in the net or not.

“I think we deserved much more from the (Forest Green) game.

“In the first half, I think we can admit to ourselves that we were a bit sluggish coming out of it.

“But in the second half, we took the game to them.

“There were a few chances that we all know that we should have scored.”