WHILST it may seem that the League Two season has only just finished, the preparations for the new season are already in full swing with Colchester United’s players returning from their summer break to begin training this week, writes JACK LONG.

For the U's the time to reflect on last season is coming to an end and they must now look into how they can improve on their 15th-place finish.

There are certainly some positives to be taken from last season.

Colchester were lingering around the relegation zone for the majority of the campaign but a strong run in the latter stages meant they were able to climb to safety and finish in a relatively strong position.

But with new season comes new challenges and all the League Two teams are very much aware of this.

The two sides coming up from the National League, Stockport County and Grimsby Town, will be looking to make life difficult for the established fourth tier sides.

And the teams coming down from League One - Crewe Alexandra, AFC Wimbledon, Doncaster Rovers and Gillingham - will provide some incredibly challenging games.

As usual though, it really is anyone’s guess how the table will look at the end of the season.

This league really is so unpredictable; who knows, we could see a promotion push from Colchester this season.

Whilst this may sound unrealistic to some, the reality is that in this league, it's not.

If Colchester can carry over their strong form from the end of last season to the new one, and maybe bring in some exciting additions to complement to the likes of Freddie Sears and Luke Chambers, then we could perhaps expect them to see climb even higher up the table.

We only have to look at Bristol Rovers’ miracle promotion last season.

Joey Barton’s side were 17th in early December last year and ended up getting automatic promotion on the final day of the season.

They hadn’t been in the top three the entire campaign until the final five minutes of the very last game.

This is such a great example of how quickly things can turn around for sides in this division.

And for Colchester United fans, I believe some quiet optimism is perfectly justified.