'I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN!'

OUR years after Hudderssteering field to Championship safety, Danny Cowley is celebrating another great escape at Colchester.

- Chris Dunlavy

Rest assured, though, the 45-year-old has absolutely no intention of becoming a fulltime firefighter.

"That's two relegation battles I've inherited and I haven't enjoyed either," says Cowley who replaced Matthew Etherington in January and lost just six of his 20 games at the helm to seal League Two survival on the final day of the season.

"To be quite honest, I'd call both of them torture. Getting the job done that's wonderful. But as soon as that whistle went on the final day I made a promise to myself that I'm never going to get involved in another one."

Sixth in League Two when Covid-19 curtailed the 2019-20 campaign, Colchester have spent subsequent years in a near-constant battle to avoid relegation to the National League.

By the time Cowley and his brother Nicky arrived, a confidence-shorn side had lost eight of the previous nine games and were plummeting headlong towards the drop zone.

Reversing that stall was slow and painful. Gritty draws were the foundation of Colchester's survival bid, culminating in the 1-1 stalemate at home to Crewe that finally lifted them beyond the reach of 23rd-placed Sutton.

"For us, it was very much about trying to see the best in the players," says Cowley. "Because we were well aware of what their worst was.

"As a coach, you have to acknowledge the frailties and weaknesses, then set them up for success by doing what they're good at. That's tactics distilled to the most basic level, and that's what we did.

"We brought energy and enthusiasm. I hope we gave the players clarity, which I think they were crying out for. In return for that clarity, they then gave us consistency. Apart from the Doncaster game (a 4-1 defeat in their penultimate game), we were very competitive."

Underpinning everything, he explains, was the sheer desire not to squander a hardearned place in the professional game.