WAYNE Brown has had three auditions for the Colchester United head coach role.

Now he deserves the chance to step up and do it for real.

Brown's appointment as the U's new permanent boss today is not much of a surprise.

That is testament in the main to the job the former defender did in lifting Colchester away from relegation danger and to a 15th-place finish, this season.

The manner in which Brown - assisted by Joe Dunne and Dave Huzzey - turned around the fortunes of a flagging team was impressive.

He took over a struggling side who had just lost their last five league matches and languished three points above the drop zone.

Brown needed to turn things around fast and put strong emphasis on the need for his players to have the right mentality for what was ahead.

When he took over, with the U's in a bad way and deep in relegation mire, Brown's message to his players was simple.

“It’s just about filling the lads with confidence, getting them into a mental head space where they are going onto the pitch thinking and knowing that they’re going to get results and that will only come when the points starting getting on the board," he said prior to his first game in charge against Salford City.

They responded immediately.

That was reflected straight away with results, beginning with the splendid 3-0 win at Salford City in his opening game in interim charge.

Gazette:

Indeed, Colchester ended up as League Two's fourth-highest team in the form table in the final eight games of the season, after amassing 16 points in that time.

Having successfully achieved his objective of keeping the U's in the league, Brown now has a different task on his hands.

After two successive seasons of struggle, Colchester now want to be fighting at the top end of the table.

The bulk of Brown's Colchester squad will predominantly be the one that battled to League Two survival, this season.

While there will be one or two departures, the majority of them are under contract and experience will no doubt form the spine of his team for the 2022-23 season.

Brown will no doubt be keen to add to what he already has, though.

There will be players on his and the club's radar and the U's will be keen to get their business down as quickly as possible, especially with the new season starting a little earlier.

Whatever happens, Brown now has the chance to properly stamp his mark on the job - and lead Colchester towards the right end of the table.