NEW Colchester United loanee Aramide Oteh says he is feeling sharp ahead of his return to former club Stevenage tonight.

The 22-year-old forward, who arrived on loan from Championship club QPR last week, is hoping to make his first U's start at the Lamex Stadium where he spent three months on loan earlier this season.

Oteh, who netted four goals in his 13 league appearances for Stevenage, made his Colchester debut as a second-half substitute in their 3-0 defeat at Morecambe, last weekend.

And ahead of his return tonight, the promising young striker is now hoping to make an impact for Colchester at the venue.

He said: "I feel sharp.

"You don't want to just be sitting on your laurels.

"You like that competitive edge and to fight for your place so hopefully, I'll take it on and see what happens.

"I just want to better myself as a player.

"You hear loads of players who go on loan and some don't like it and some don't benefit from it.

"I feel like each loan I've been on, I've benefited from it so hopefully I can take that on my journey with me and continue to benefit and grow into a better player.

"Football is what makes you happy and wherever that is, you have to go there.

"I went to Walsall for my first loan and then I went to Bradford, which is way far from here.

"It's nice to be near home but at the same time, it's about playing."

Oteh, who linked up with QPR's academy in the summer of 2017, is already pretty familiar with League Two football following his loan spells with Stevenage and Bradford.

He has already made 60 league career appearances to date, including 17 for QPR.

"I like running in behind, taking shots and scoring goals," said Oteh, who started his youth career at Spurs before joining QPR.

"My link-up play is good as well so hopefully with the players we have here, we can all integrate and play well together."

Meanwhile, Oteh has revealed he spoke to two former U's players about Colchester prior to arriving at the JobServe Community Stadium.

Former U's keeper Dillon Barnes and Olamide Shodipo, who spent nearly four months on loan at Colchester in the 2017-18 season, are Oteh's team-mates at QPR.

"I spoke to Mide - he's obviously doing well now at Oxford," said Oteh.

"He said Colchester was a good place to be.

"I also know Dillon Barnes who was here a couple of seasons ago.

"When I spoke to him after Colchester's interest, he said some good things so it's all positive.

"I also know Michael (Folivi) - he was at Watford and we played a lot of youth games against each other.

"He's helped me to settle in, the same as all of the lads here.

"It's always nice to know somebody when you go to a new club."