How do the club approach Essex Senior Cup matches, is it seen as a chance to give a youthful side the opportunity to play a competitive match?
Colchester United will always try and give the competition the respect it deserves and in recent years we’ve had a number of senior professionals in our squad for the Senior Cup games. However, it also offers us the chance to blood some of our younger players in competitive mens’ football, so there will be some of our up and coming talents in the team for Tuesday night’s game. Due to the injuries we’ve had in the first team in recent weeks, some of these lads have been around the senior squad, so this is another good opportunity for them.

Colchester Town, the amateur club that eventually made way to Colchester United, were the first winners of the competition, followed by Colchester United winning in 2009-2010. How important is it for the club to win or reach the latter stages of the cup, as in 2011-2012? Winning is a great habit to be in, whatever competition you’re in, so we’ll be looking to make progress in this competition, as it develops the winning habit amongst the players and that’s really important for the club as a whole. We’ve made good progress in recent years, and we’ll be aiming to do the same this year.

Have you had much experience of facing smaller non league clubs?I’m taking my first steps in the coaching side of the game at the moment, but throughout my playing career, I’ve come up against non league teams in cup competitions. There have been some mixed results along the way – and some days to forget – but thankfully, we’ve managed to come out on top more often than not in these sorts of games.

How does going to smaller clubs, playing in a far more intimate atmosphere, effect you as a manager and the players?
We’re used to it in some ways. During my playing days, Colchester were playing at Layer Road that provided exactly that type of atmosphere and surroundings for visiting teams to deal with. As a player, you just have to make sure you focus on your football and not allow yourself to get too distracted with what’s around you.

Do you know much about Great Wakering FC and the way we play?
We know that you’ve had a great start to the season and so it’s important to make sure we respect that when we come down on Tuesday. If a team tops their division, whatever their level, then you have to be aware of their threats and be ready to deal with them.

Do you approach these games in a different manner to the First Team matches?
The club has a philosophy of fast attacking football, and that is from the first team games, right the way through to the Academy fixtures. We will be looking to replicate that in Tuesday night’s game and ensure we move the ball around the pitch quickly and into dangerous areas.