Anthony Wordsworth would love to be Colchester United’s middleman this season.

The former U’s youth team captain admits that he had a “disappointing” time last year, but has come back reinvigorated as the team got their pre-season action under way this week.

Wordsworth will be joining the rest of the squad as they head to Holland for a week-long summer training camp tomorrow.

And while he would be happy playing out wide in the U’s midfield this year – as he has done for most of his time at the senior level – the 22-year-old has his eyes on somewhere more central after the departure of David Perkins.

He said: "If I’m asked to play there, it would be nice.

“I do enjoy playing on the left but I am a central midfielder and if I can get a run in the team there, then we’ll have to see how it goes."

U’s boss John Ward played him in the middle of a three-man midfield for the first half of the 4-0 pre-season win at Maldon and Tiptree on Wednesday.

Ward added: “Anthony got on the ball a lot and that is what he is good at."

See this week's Essex County Standard for the full version of this story and more on how Wordsworth feels he has put off-field distractions behind him ahead of the new season.