DANNY Cowley has already turned his attention firmly towards next season, with the Colchester United boss stepping up his recruitment drive by casting his net overseas.
The U’s head coach will travel to Ireland this week as part of an ongoing effort to reshape his squad, ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
While the regular EFL season is now complete, the League of Ireland campaign is continuing in earnest, with plenty of games taking place today.
“For me, the work has started with the focus on next season,” said Cowley.
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“It never stops really and for us, they’re all good markets.”
Cowley has been actively scouting across multiple levels, including the non-league play-offs, as he looks to identify players capable of strengthening his squad.
“We’re watching the play-off games in non-league, both in National League and National League South,” he explained.
“I’m going out to Ireland and going to watch some games out there.”
Recruitment planning is already well underway behind the scenes, with decisions beginning to take shape regarding both current players and potential additions.
Some discussions happened last week, with more set to take place this week.
Colchester have had several loan players this season and the likes of Will Goodwin, Fin Barbrook and Fin Back will return to their parent clubs, while for players such as Harvey Araujo and Romeo Akachukwu, the campaign is not yet over.
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“Some of our loan players, especially the Premier League and Championship ones, go back and their season doesn’t finish,” he added.
“We have some whose season has finished because of injury, so some conversations you can have before the season’s up.”
Cowley has acknowledged the uncertainty that comes with the ongoing takeover situation but stressed his commitment to keeping players informed about their futures.
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“I think it’s an uncertain time because of where we are as a club and I owe it to them to try to give them as much certainty as I can,” he said.
“I know the importance of that and I’ve tried to be as transparent as I can be with the players throughout this period.”
With the summer rebuild already in motion, Cowley’s proactive approach suggests a busy few months ahead at the JobServe Community Stadium.
