Jevani Brown on his exit from Colchester United

But the forward says he is grateful for his time at the U’s – and is now looking forward to his next challenge.

Brown, who was due to see his contract expire this summer, is one of a host of players to be released by Colchester bringing to an end his two-year stint at the JobServe Community Stadium.

The 26-year-old, who made 62 league and cup appearances for the U’s, admits his time at the club had its ups and downs but says his departure did not come as a huge surprise.

Brown said: “There’s definitely a feeling of disappointment at leaving Colchester.

“I had an option on my contract but the club said that they probably wouldn’t take it up.

“Having not played as much in the last few months, maybe I was thinking my time might have been coming to an end.

“I had goals this season and I feel I could have achieved them given more of a chance, I guess.

“But that’s how football goes sometimes and you can’t dwell on it too much.

“The way I’m looking at it is that a new challenge now awaits.

“I’m still grateful for the two years I’ve had at Colchester and I’ve learnt a lot – even stuff about myself and in general as well.

“I’m grateful for my time here and I wish everyone all the best.”

Brown joined Colchester from Cambridge United in July 2019 and started their first six league and cup matches.

But he began to find himself out of favour under John McGreal, leading to him leaving to join Forest Green Rovers on loan in the January transfer window.

Brown enjoyed a resurgence at the start of this season under Steve Ball, who played him as a number nine.

It resulted in him scoring 11 goals in his first 16 league and cup matches for the U’s in the 2020-21 campaign, a spell which included two hat-tricks and a League Two Player of the Month award for December.

But the goals dried up after that and Brown found himself on the bench for much of the last few months of the season.

“There have definitely been ups and downs but that’s just part of life, I would say,” said Brown, who finished the season as Colchester’s second highest scorer, behind Callum Harriott.

“It’s not always going to be smooth sailing so you’ve just got to take it on the chin and it’s how you bounce back from it.

“I thought my second season started off very well.

“I started off the season with good confidence.

“Bally had confidence in me from the first day I went back for pre-season.

“It’s unfortunate but it’s part of football and I’ve just got to look ahead now.

“It’s time for a new journey, I guess.

“My main thought for the first couple of weeks after the season finishes is getting myself back home and spending some time with my family and go from there.”

Brown played the vast majority of his football in the number ten attacking role, prior to this season.

But he was used as a number nine by Ball and had plenty of success in the position, in the opening months of the campaign.

He said: “If it wasn’t for this season, I wouldn’t have learnt that I can play as a nine on my own and also how much I enjoyed playing it as well.

“It does open up more aspects to my game which hopefully, I can develop in years to come.

“Instead of putting myself forward for one position, I can now put myself forward for a few positions which can always help.”

Brown admits it has been a strange season, with Football League clubs having to adhere to strict Covid-19 protocols and games being played out in empty stadiums for the vast majority of the campaign.

Brown added: “This year has probably been the strangest that anyone has ever had with the stuff like the social distancing, even at the training ground.

“You can’t be in and around each other as a team as you normally would be.

“The obvious one though is matchday without fans – that’s what football is all about, the atmosphere that the fans bring.

“Hopefully, this can all get sorted out as soon as possible and we have fans back in for the start of next season.”